


If You Float, You Burn

by poppicock



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Peacock Miraculous, drama that isn't about 'the gay struggle', haha are you kidding, slice of life romance, this has DRAMA, you all know me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:59:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 32,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9344246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppicock/pseuds/poppicock
Summary: Nathalie Sancoeur, among other things, is dating Penny Rolling.





	1. The Spell has Begun

Nathalie never wanted to murder Penny.

That was a lie. A blatant lie the brunette would tell herself regularly.

She only wanted to murder her long-time girlfriend when she got home late. ‘Two in the morning’ late. ‘Two in the morning and your partner wakes up at six for work’ late.

She could survive, if she went to bed at nine, got six hours of un-interrupted sleep, and then four more hours. Too bad she was an adult with responsibilities, including a teenager and an ornery boss.

Penny slipped into bed, and Nathalie rolled over, wrapping an arm around her short, squishy girlfriend. “I hate you.” She murmured.

Nathalie’s girlfriend was already asleep however, which was rather unfair. Nathalie took ages to fall asleep, and Penny was a deadweight before her head hit the pillow.

“Are you sure you want me to live with you?” Penny asked her, several days later, over Nathalie’s rare lunch break.

She frowned, “We discussed this. I’m sure.”

Her eyebrows arched. “That’s the thing about communicative relationships. I’m checking in, here.”

That got an eye roll out of the executive assistant. “Yes. I’m sure. Yes, I want to continue seeing you. Yes, my schedule doesn’t really allow for a relationship. Yes, it would be easier to date you if we were living together.”

Penny glared at her, biting back a smile as Nathalie adopted a smirk behind the day’s third cup of coffee.

“No, I don’t regret coming to that conclusion, and no, the change in my sleeping schedule doesn’t bother me.” She added.

The woman crossed her arms and leaned back. “I’m not that predictable.” Penny told her in a dignified huff.

Nathalie hummed. “How’s the studio today?”

“Jagged is still trying to _find_ himself.”

 

XXX

 

“I’ll fetch coffee.” Nathalie stood, glancing down at Jagged Stone and his new assistant. She knew her boss’s order, she knew Jagged’s order, she knew Jagged’s _mother’s_ order, but Penny was a wildcard. “What would you like, Ms. Rolling?”

When Jagged’s mother assisted the rising star, it had been easier on Nathalie’s nerves. Eleanor had easily bent to Gabriel Agreste’s assistant, Eleanor found her _charming_ , somehow. Hell, Eleanor Stone had sent Nathalie holiday cards.

Penny Rolling did not balk at the sight of Nathalie, who was incredibly tall, and as icy as her boss. She was a nice woman wrapped up in a layer of barbed wire. She did not conceal her good heart well enough to fool anyone.

“An Americano would be fantastic, thank you.” Penny had looked up, making a point to meet Nathalie with her golden-brown eyes.

She made sure to keep her expression beyond bored.

 _An Americano would be fantastic, thank you._ Nathalie felt herself internally mocking her, and then shock as she turned. Why was she automatically inclined to disliking Penny Rolling? Her thoughts turned to horror, because she had no true reason to dislike everything about her. Smothering her feelings down into the deep pit of Tartarus where they belonged, Nathalie strolled into the kitchen of the mansion to make drink.

She was good at that. Somehow, she landed a job as a barista in a local café in her teens, between a patisserie and a Chinese massage parlor. Making coffee had continued to be second nature. Nathalie’s first act as Gabriel’s assistant was to throw out all of the coffee beans in the house, in favor of superior ones. 

Nathalie carried back a small tray of coffees, fully expecting to have to put the three of them back on track. Gabriel, as professional as he was, indulged with Jagged, as they had known each other for decades. Eleanor had encouraged it, as she had taught Mrs. Agreste piano when she was a teenager. They were _family_. It was all very bittersweet, and Nathalie always had to get them to refocus on whatever task they had decided to tackle that day.

Strolling back into Gabriel’s office, she had found them still discussing the costuming of one of Jagged’s music videos. It was not a big shock, but Nathalie could only stare at the back of Penny’s head and wonder how she tackled the two creatives.

Then she questioned why she was so impressed to begin with. Doing one’s job wasn’t anything to write home. Penny Rolling was not— _had not proven to be—_ exemplarily.

 

XXX

 

“You took down her contact information, Nathalie?” Gabriel turned to her, as soon as Jagged Stone and his assistant.

Nathalie kept her voice cool. “I had not, sir. I assumed you had taken her business card.”

He glanced away, back at the door. “Ms. Rolling commented that she had not had the time to get business cards printed.”

She exhaled, and did her best to gracefully run towards the front door, down the steps, and meet the pair on the street.

In a swarm of paparazzi. Fantastic.

“Ms Rolling!” Nathalie easily brushed aside reporters (they were threatened by her _years_ ago). “I never took down your contact information.”

She let out a breathy sigh, as Jagged stepped into the car, Penny turned back to the assistant, ignoring the cameras around them. They wouldn’t end up in the paper anyway. “Of course.” She took Nathalie’s phone, shooting her a wry look, “You could’ve just e-mailed me, however.”

Nathalie felt the blood drain from her face. Bonehead. “Yes, of course.”

“Heat of the moment?” The purple-haired woman quipped, “Your boss made you panic about not having my information?”

“Something along those lines.” She glanced away, clasping her hands behind her back.

“Or you wanted my number.” Penny’s eyes sparkled, trying to meet the shallow blue pools behind Nathalie’s glasses.

Mustering up her coldest glare, she took her phone back from the short girl, relishing in the height difference. “Have a lovely day, Ms. Rolling.”

She could not help but slam the mansion door behind her, and let out a huff. This was on the assumption that she was _alone._ The boy was off at some lesson and the boy’s father was _supposed_ to be in the office working.

Instead, Gabriel had remained in the foyer, and now, he watched her collected herself. She stared at the ground for a moment, so she would resist the urge to lob her phone at his stupid smirk, his stupid raised eyebrow.

She glanced up, and exhaled. Adjusting the hem of her blazer so that she would not ball her fists, her mouth formed a thin, inscrutable line. “Everything should be in order, sir.”


	2. A witch who is bored might do anything

It had not occurred to Nathalie that Penny Rolling might be interested in her. It was easy to live life as though her own infatuation was unrequited, unnoticed.

She did not have time for this. Even if she had time, there was simply no way she could fight for her emotions to care about someone other than herself. It was exhausting enough forcing herself to care (even a little) about Adrien Agreste, and by extension, her boss.

It was not that she had felt nothing, her emotions were fleeting. Every speck left shortly after it appeared. Her heart was unaffected—and therefore—non-existent.

Her eyes were glued to her computer screen, responding in a thread between Alec Cataldi, his assistant, Gabriel, and herself. Penny had decided to lag behind while Gabriel and Jagged went into a fitting. It made Nathalie want to gouge her eyes out. The two men would not stay on task at this rate.

Penny had shot a look over to Nathalie, who was currently doing everything to ignore the woman.

“I saw that your resume was leaked online.” She remarked to the woman.

Her head shot up to a very a somber looking Penny. “What?” Her voice did not conceal the shock and horror. Nathalie Sancoeur had had a need for intense privacy since she was a teenager. This would bring that all crashing down, in her field.

Penny took a step closer, looking uncharacteristically serious, “I surprised that you lied on your resume, Nathalie.”

Now, Nathalie had done her best to hide the complete look of disbelief on her face. Yes, obviously, she lied on her resume when she applied to her position over fifteen years ago. It hardly mattered now, Gabriel knew she was a liar, and he had never required her to speak Russian or use Adobe. She picked the most neutral expression in her repertoire.

“Excuse me?” She leaned back in her swivel chair, and crossed her legs.

“On your resume, under the ‘Additional Skills’ section.” Penny clarified, a certain sparkled in her eye. Was that smile on her face complete satisfaction. “You put down that you were a skilled dancer, and I personally didn’t see a reputable reference that would indicate—”

Nathalie put several pieces together, and now, she cut the woman off. “What the hell do you think you’re—”

Penny held up a hand, not bothering to conceal the smile on her face, “—Hold on. Anyway, do you need a reference? There’s a concert on Saturday that I have to go to and I thought I’d do you a favor.”

She sighed, and buried her face in her hands, “That was more stressful than it should’ve been, Ms. Rolling.” Nathalie looked back up.

Penny was _glowing._ There was no way Nathalie would reject her, and they both knew it.

She scowled, and let herself roll her eyes. “Very well.”

“Really?”

“I’m not one to stutter, Ms. Rolling.”

Penny pressed her lips together, and pulled out a pen, and scribbled something the address and time. She handed the note over to her. “Wear something cute.”

Nathalie glared at Penny, but said nothing. Penny tried to swallow down laughter, but did not succeed. The rock star’s assistant went into the fitting.

 

XXX

 

Nathalie did not prefer to go grocery shopping, but Penny got such a joy out of it. In an ideal world, she would pay someone have everything delivered.

“Ah, pinwheels!” Penny looked over at Nathalie, who was not amused at the chocolate-covered marshmallow things.

“We have a _list_.” She told her.

Penny rolled her eyes, “It’s just one deviation, Nat. Don’t be such a stick in the mud.”

Nathalie frowned, “First of all, I know you. One deviation from the plan leads to two, then three, and then we’re off the rails, over budget, and out of room in the pantry. Secondly, you’ve knew exactly what you were getting into when we started dating, it’s hardly fair to complain about it now.”

“Are you really going to argue about something that doesn’t ultimately matter?” Penny smiled, and placed the junk food in the basket, and plucked the list out her girlfriend’s hands, satisfied.

“I suppose that would not be in my best interest.” She replied, following behind her in a clipped fashion.

Penny smiled at her, and Nathalie felt herself unwillingly relaxing. Her shoulders lost their tension, as public places made her slightly stressed (she could not tell you why). “Come on, Nathalie, lighten up.”

“All of this junk food will not make me ‘lighten up’.” She replied tersely, watching as she placed a bag of chips (which was on the list) into the basket.

That made Penny laugh.

 

XXX

 

She had not worn something cute. In fact, she wore what she wore to work that day. A strict button up blouse, a shade of dark blue that wasn’t quite navy, a gray blazer, black sailor trousers that seemed to go on forever, and her regular heels.

Nathalie briefly wondered why would not give Penny Rolling the satisfaction that her date put effort into her appearance beyond the normal professional day.

After giving her name to one of the two bouncer’s, the taller one murmured something to the shorter, and the shorter one gave her a small smile. She was taller than him. “If you’ll follow me, Ms. Sancoeur.”

She nodded, and followed the security guard around the corner, down an alley, she grimaced, and her hands wrapped around the keys in her pockets. Somewhere distant alternative rock played, past the brick of the venue.

He unlocked a door, and led her into a backstage area. They rounded several more corners, and then up a flight of stairs to another hallway.

There was a door, labeled ‘Ms. Penny Rolling’. The bouncer nodded to Nathalie, and quickly left her.

Exhaling, she raised her hand to knock.

Penny opened the door, dressed more like a punk rocker than a rockstar’s assistant. Nathalie could not help but gape at the black lace bustier, denim jacket thrown over that, and tight leggings that clung to every curve of the woman.

“I told you to wear something cute, Nathalie.” Penny gestured the woman inside, into her dressing room. “If you want to pick your jaw up off the floor, I did bring clothing for you.”

“You knew I wouldn’t—”

“Do not stall.” Penny prodded Nathalie’s shoulder in the direction of a curtained off section of the room. “The set I have to see is going to start soon.”

Nathalie went behind the curtain, nodding.

 _Why am I playing along with this?_ She wondered to herself, pulling off her jacket and glaring at the outfit her date had picked out. Then, she saw the pair of oxfords, and wondered if Penny had asked Gabriel Agreste for her shoe size.

She emerged from the dressing room, looking as unamused as ever. “Do I look like a lumberjack to you?”

Penny went to her, examining her work. A red flannel, ripped dark-wash jeans, navy oxfords. Her fingers dared to touch Nathalie’s sides, and she untucked the flannel. Penny glanced up at Nathalie’s face, which was neutral. She smirked, and unbuttoned the top two buttons (as Nathalie buttoned the loose flannel as far as it would go.

Then, in a twist, Penny stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Nathalie’s cheek. “Well, _now_ you do. Besides, it was the only cool thing I could find on short notice with a collar. No offense, of course.”

She had not appeared so undone before, but somehow, she was following her date down the flight of stairs, around several corners, and they had ended up at the corner of the bar. Penny asked her if she liked beer (she didn’t, but she could only dumbly nod, the loud music around her drowned out every though).

Nathalie, against her better judgement, followed Penny, one hand gripping a plastic cup of foamy beer, the other hand brushed against the other woman, who was exceptionally good at navigating a crowd.

The woman took a sip of her beer, remembered that she _loathed_ beer, and tried to smile. Penny seemed to find a spot that she liked, and then she turned back to Nathalie.

“So, do you dance? I never actually found your resume.”

Nathalie swallowed, “I’ll dance after a few more drinks, okay?”

Penny hummed. “I’m scouting opening acts for Jagged. These guys are at the top of the list.”

Nodding, Nathalie took note of the crowd around them, of the cheering and music that swelled to the high ceiling above them, “They seem popular.”

She took another sip of the beer, and wondered if Penny would judge her for downing the whole thing just to go back to the bar for…perhaps whiskey. Wine would not do.

The concert was a blur, though she did start dancing, after Penny started moving her hips. It would seem impolite not to dance with her, _that_ was Nathalie’s reasoning. Beer tasted better with time and a strong will, luckily.

It was fun, though. Penny disappeared to the bar and brought back shots. Nathalie asked her if she was still in University, but downed the alcohol, and danced more.

By the time the concert had ended, Nathalie and Penny were sober enough to exit safely, after retrieving their belongings in the dressing room. Penny disappeared momentarily to speak to the band and hand out her business card.

When they finally emerged out of the venue, Nathalie turned to Penny, aware that it was past midnight, and was about to speak.

Penny Rolling deserved more credit where credit was due. Nathalie was standing on a sidewalk at one in the morning, wearing a flannel button up, ripped jeans that were stained from spilled drinks. Her legs were screaming bloody murder from all the dancing, her ears officially need a break. Penny had not given her a moment to think that perhaps this was all a bad idea, that Penny lived a lifestyle too energetic for Nathalie to experience. In truth, Penny and Nathalie were similar.

“Let’s go for a walk.” Penny suggested as Nathalie was about to speak, “We can take in the silence.”

“That wasn’t apart of the plan.” She replied weakly, already allowing the woman to take her hand and lead her down the street.

She turned back to the woman, her skin highlighted by the blue lights of the venue. “I know.” Penny breathed, “But you can handle some deviations, Ms. Sancoeur?”

Nathalie smiled, and vaguely wondered how much coffee she’d need to drink the next day to survive.


	3. Witches don’t look like anything

Nathalie was not aware of how deep she cared about Penny for about a month into dating her. It may come as a shock, but the woman was exceptional at subduing her feelings. It happened during a fashion week party that Gabriel and her were invited too. Penny and Jagged also attended.

No, stop asking, she did not realize she was head over heels when she saw Penny in her dress. The deep neckline, the dark blue tulle, and the shiny velvet bodice had not distracted her. In fact, Nathalie had known what she was wearing for three weeks, and dressed accordingly.

It was a matter of bribing the man who Penny said designed her dress. It was child’s play. Now, Nathalie was not one for dresses. She wore a very fashionable suit. A suit that was, conveniently, dark blue with black leather (she was not one to wear velvet) lapels and trim.

“Is this a coincidence?” Penny scrutinized her girlfriend, tilting her head to the side as she took in the outfit.

“Of course not,” Nathalie lied, keeping her expression neutral, “This color is very fashionable.”

Somewhere near her, Gabriel Agreste snorted, and murmured something to Jagged Stone. They were beyond amused that their assistants were dating, the rockstar more so than the designer. Gabriel was somber about the entire affair, and Nathalie wondered if he stressed over what a breakup would do to their business relationships.

Nathalie circled Penny to hide her flushed cheeks. “You look amazing.”

They had not interacted much for the rest of the party. Gabriel and Nathalie had people to meet, and Penny and her boss mingled amongst the musicians at the party.

She had not been unaware of her presence however. If Gabriel turned to Nathalie and asked her where Ms. Rolling was, Nathalie would be able to answer correctly throughout the course of the night. No, this did not cause Nathalie to question her feelings for Penny Rolling.

He did, however, tell her that he was going to step out and call their driver. Gabriel had an early morning interview with Vogue, and Nathalie presence was required. He shot her a sly look, “Give Ms. Rolling my regards.”

Her boss disapproved, but he had been as polite as was required of him.

Nathalie silently joined her girlfriend’s side. “You’re going?” Penny turned.

She almost lost the words in her mouth. Speechless was not a strong enough to describe how Penny stunned her. The woman was gorgeous. Nathalie recovered as quickly as she could, and, no, this did not cause some massive realization where she finally understood her feelings for the woman.

“I am.” She commented, removing the spare keys in her pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow at Gabriel’s show?”

“You will.” Penny smiled. “I have the seat next to yours.”

No, Nathalie’s manipulation of the seating chart did not clue her in, either. Was she oblivious, or was she that good at being heartless?

Not one for public display’s of affection (yet, Penny would change this about Nathalie later), the woman retreated, finding Gabriel quickly.

She did not remember what he said to her, because ten seconds later, an akuma burst through a glass window. A C-list celebrity that didn’t get an invitation was rather sore about it, and started turning several party guests into clouds of invites, which she manipulated like the wind.

Whirling around, she turned back to Gabriel, who looked at her, shocked. “Go find her.” He told her, “I’ll keep the car running, okay?”

Nathalie nodded, and took off her heels. She handed them to her boss, who took them, looked slightly concern, and quickly exited.

They were in a great ballroom in Le Grand Paris. Nathalie ripped her phone out of her pocket, and dipped around a column. She called Penny, and listened for a ringing noise, amongst the chaos, her ringtone. The one that woke her up at four am a few nights ago, the one Nathalie would never forget.

She heard the familiar xylophone tones, and shot out from behind the marble.

In retrospect, it was probably not the best idea to run through the middle of the room to where her girlfriend was hiding (crouched behind a fern).

Luckily, Evil-Lister’s back was turned, magicking invitations around her, aiming for Alec Cataldi when Nathalie joined Penny’s side, who was frantically fishing through her purse for her phone.

“What are you doing?” She looked at her girlfriend, her eyes the size of saucers.

Nathalie looked out, waiting for her opportunity, “Getting us out of here. I have a car waiting.”

Penny looked at her like she had two heads on her shoulders, but she nodded. Nathalie took her hand, and told her to follow.

“I’d follow you anywhere.” The woman replied without thinking.

No. This was not the moment either. Nathalie was dense, and Penny could be a thoughtless flirt. The words spilled out almost anywhere and anytime.

The precise moment was about to happen in thirty seconds.

In twenty-five seconds, Evil-lister’s attention would be directed towards the Mayor, and Nathalie would lead her girlfriend across the room. Penny could run in heels, somehow.

In the next five seconds, Penny’s shoes would roll her ankle across loose invitation papers (victims). Nathalie would slide along with her, they would not fall, but rather, get their footing over a wooden table.

After that, the akuma would turn and sneer at them. The ‘help’. Apparently, the akuma knew that they were assistants. Nathalie would knock over the table, providing them a shield, and time.

Penny would have the brains to ignore the papers flying at them. It was paper, after all. Evil-lister had to amass a huge cloud of them just to fly. She had enough papers to annoy the women, not enough to truly interrupt their escape.

Five seconds before Nathalie realized just how much she adored Penny Rolling, the akuma would aim their hairbrush at them as they ran towards the exit. The brunette would grab Penny and turn her back towards the akuma, and throwing part of her weight towards the exit. It was not her goal to timber over, it was her goal to get her girlfriend towards safety as fast as possible.

There was always some sort of fear in Paris if Hawkmoth succeeded. No one was sure if he would revert all of the damage he caused. For all Nathalie knew, turning into a bunch of paper invites was a permanent sentence.

Then, it happened. It hit Nathalie like a boulder falling into a small pond.

_Did I just give up my life for her?_

Nathalie, as always, did not have the time to truly think out this revelation, as the magical beam missed her by several marks. She spun out, grabbed Penny’s hand, and pushed through the main entrance, and they were onto the street.

Her immediate instinct was to run into the neighboring alleyway, and hide while the akuma searched for them.

“That was—”

Her date was in awe. Nathalie couldn’t catch her breath and Penny was so wonderstruck that it was deafening.

“Shut up.” The woman cut her off, her hands gripping her knees as she bent over. Her heart had not caught up with the events that had taken place.

Penny was silent for a moment, and rubbed Nathalie’s back, in small circles. She took loud breaths, inhaling, holding, and exhaling, and the woman followed her pattern, trying to calm down.

Nathalie stood, and Penny watched her put her façade back on. “We should go.” She told her, “my boss has a car waiting.”

Gabriel had not waited, however. She was thankful that her boss had not witnessed any of what had transpired. There was a brief, brief moment of bliss after Nathalie opened the door for Penny so she could climb inside, and before Nathalie got in the car herself. She took this half a second to think a bit harder.

Her only conclusion was this: _Do as much as you can to not lose her._ And that was as deep as Nathalie was willing to dive.

“You were like a superhero.” Penny told her eventually, after some moment of silence passed between them in the car. “It was amazing.”

“I’m _not_ a superhero.”

She responded so quickly that she shocked herself into laughter. “I mean,” Nathalie stared at her hands as the car kept driving and driving and—where were they going again?— “I couldn’t leave you behind, is what I’m trying to say. It wasn’t anything heroic.”

Penny looked over her, concerned, “Are you okay? It was like second-nature.”

“I practiced martial-arts when I was a teenager. I think I stopped around the…well, halfway through the last year of university.” She answered, strangely numb. “I guess the reflexes never went away?”

The driver stopped in front of Nathalie’s apartment, and normally, she would’ve internally grumbled and moaned about being required to invite Penny up for the night. It was a pain, they worked different hours, after all. However, this night would be different.

Nathalie invited Penny up. Actually, no. She would always _invite_ her up. That gave her partner the option of declining.

Tonight, she turned to the purple-haired woman and said, “Stay at my place tonight.”

Then, she balked, and then she was suddenly not sure why she was flustered.

“I—I mean, of course, if you’d _like_ to.” Nathalie stammered out, “The driver can take you back to your apartment if that’s—”

Penny placed her hand over Nathalie’s. “Why wouldn’t I want to stay?” She asked her girlfriend in a patient voice.


	4. A witch is a woman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your nice comments! They mean a lot to me and I read them all and I'll try to reply to them soon!

It may come as a shock to you (it won’t), but Nathalie didn’t have many friends. She had one. One who she saw almost weekly, on schedule, on Saturday nights.

Caline normally brought her partner along, but Demetra Mendeleiev had papers to grade. Nathalie liked Demetra as well, but she didn’t escape the feeling of ‘third wheeling teachers who are secretly dating’.

“So.” Her smile was a crooked line, and she leaned cross the table at the bar, so that Nathalie couldn’t avoid her gaze. “Demi and I are going to a jazz club on Friday, after exams are over. You should come dance with us.”

Nathalie nodded, and checked the calendar on her phone. She nodded, “I can make it, though, dancing? We haven’t done that in years.”

She smiled, “You should bring the woman you haven’t told me about.”

Her poker face did not falter. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

“Oh!” Caline rolled her eyes. “Obviously. We’ve only been best friends—”

“—Friends—”

“—semantics, Nathalie. Anyway. If you’re definitely not seeing someone, I found the perfect girl for you.”

Nathalie clicked her tongue, “Did you? I’m picky.”

The redhead had a certain glint in her eye. Her fingers curled around her glass of wine, and she smirked as she ran through the checklist. “Let’s see, busy schedule? She’s an ER surgeon. Super busy saving lives to wait around for your schedule to clear up. Financially independent? See point number one, Nathalie. What else? Your frigid behavior. Claudia would find it endearing and she’s not one for talking anyway.”

The brunette glared at her friend, who looked far too satisfied. “Anything else, Bustier?”

“You bring your girlfriend or I bring you a date, Sancoeur.” Caline went on. When she noticed her former roommate’s pout, she rolled her eyes, “Oh come _on,_ Nathalie. I figured this out two months ago and I’ve been patient.”

Nathalie exhaled. “There’s no woman.”

“So it’s Gabriel Agreste.” Caline rolled her eyes, “I didn’t think you’d go after your boss.”

That was check and mate.

“Keep your voice down.” Nathalie demanded. “Some idiot could hear you. Fine. I’ll bring my girlfriend, okay?”

 

XXX

 

“I hate your dishware.”

“Ah.” Nathalie did not look up from her book, her legs curled under a blanket in bed. “That’s nice.”

“Are you listening?” Penny was beside her, laptop resting on her as she typed away e-mails. She looked over at Nathalie, however.

“I’m engrossed.” She replied, flipping a page in her book. “Did you know that veganism began in the late forties? It’s very fascinating.”

“ _Nathalie_.”

The woman sighed, closed her book, and looked over at her girlfriend. “What’s wrong with my dishes?” It was difficult not to sound defensive. She picked out the dishes long before Ms. Rolling moved in and proceeded to uproot her life.

“They’re not cute.”

Pursing her lips, she let out a haughty breath and snipped back, “That’s a difference of opinion.”

“ _I_ was thinking—before this devolves into arguing—of a different solution.” Penny kissed her cheek, “Let’s get housewares on Saturday.”

Her eyes glanced over to Penny, who was trying her best to be as casual as she could be. The girl was failing, her poker face betrayed the bubbly underneath. “What were you thinking?” Nathalie’s tone warmed up, trying to be encouraging.

She did not pretend that it was just a few things, at least. “Dishes, silverware, towels, linens, and new pillows for your couches.”

“That’s a significant number of things.”

“We can do it in two weekends.” Penny’s tone made it sound as though a compromise had been reached, when in reality, it was not a compromise.

Nathalie frowned, “And you began this conversation with dishes. How misleading.”

Penny didn’t say another world. She stared, her face neutral, her stare icy. and Nathalie glared at her. _She’s picking up my habits._

“Okay, are you happy? We’ll redecorate.”

“Thank you.” The woman kissed her cheek, and returned to e-mails.

 

XXX

 

A week later, Nathalie found herself saying, “Penny, this is Caline Bustier and Demi Mendeleiev.” The sat in around a table, around a circled couch, some distance away from the band. “Guys, this is my girlfriend, Penny.”

“Oh my god, Nathalie. Penny you’re so pretty!”

The woman in question, wore a gray dress under her leather jacket. Her lipstick didn’t crack as she smiled and thanked the redhead. When things had settled, Penny asked Caline how the three of them met.

“Nathalie and I were roommates throughout university.” She sipped at her cocktail, beaming, “It was this little apartment off of a side street.”

“Oh?” Penny smirked, her eyes darted over to Nathalie, who remained neutral. “What was that like?”

_Here it comes._

“Well, Nathalie and I went to school when Le Paon was attacking, so…stressful?” Caline chuckled. “She was always either pent up in her room studying or at the library studying, and—how old are you? Are you younger than us?”

“Thirty-five.”

“Ah, so you remember the attacks, no?” Her eyes flashed over to Nathalie, “And as students they told us to make sure our roommates—you know—returned home, was present, that sort of thing. You heard the horror stories?”

The woman nodded and resumed talking.

“I rarely found Nathalie because she was just always busy. Martial arts, hair appointments, classes, study sessions—I mean—I normally never hung out with her anyway until junior year.” Caline beamed, “She told me she was changing her major from political science and chemical engineering to _business administration._ And boom. Nathalie stopped being busy and we actually hung out.”

Penny pushed her eyebrows together and glanced over to her girlfriend, “What kind of double major was _that_?”

Nathalie shrugged, playing it off like she had some clue as to why she picked those majors. Maybe because they were challenging? “The very busy, very impressive-looking kind.” She answered, sipping her drink, “I changed my majors because I finished my second year of them, went to classes, and it stopped clicking.”

 _It also left me with an incredibly empty feeling that I couldn’t escape._ Words she would never say out loud echoed throughout her core. “Besides,” She added instead, “I realized that I needed a social life more than I needed a double major.”

“And look where you are now.” Demi commented, causing the group to laugh.

“So that’s it?” Penny nudged Nathalie’s shoulder, “That’s the tragic backstory? You didn’t have many friends growing up?”

“I wasn’t lonely.” She protested. “I had a job at a coffee shop in the twenty-first arrondissement when I was a kid. I took martial arts classes from seventeen to twenty-one. I kept up with world affairs.” Nathalie paused. “I am almost forty. I do not have to defend my youth.”

She stood, said drinks were on her, and left to let Demi and Caline ‘grill’ Penny. It was easier than discussing her life up until this point.

 

XXX

 

“Don’t you think leather pillows send the wrong message?” Nathalie held them up and examined the stitching. “I mean, they’re black. Black leather.”

They were already in their shopping cart, but there was still a chance that she would never have to see them again. There were also faux-fur pillows, in white. Penny had kept up the same color scheme that Nathalie picked out years ago, but had chosen a different style completely. Muted turned to bold, emotionless became exciting, and plain morphed into complex.

“Is it too kinky for you?” Penny did not look away as she debated over shower curtains. When she heard Nathalie snort, the woman grinned, “I thought you’d appreciate a more cutting-edge style.”

She frowned, “I _do._ But things go out of style.”

“Your pillows are out of style and, yet, still in your apartment.”

“My pillows are timeless. Classic pieces.”

“Classic is boring.” Penny replied. “And you’re anything but boring.”

Nathalie turned around, and caught her girlfriend’s cheek, pecking her quickly. “Flattery will not persuade me to like those pillows.”

There was something mischievous in Rolling’s golden eyes. “But you like me.” She murmured.

“I do.” She exhaled, letting her girlfriend get the pillows was probably the best solution.

 

XXX

 

While Nathalie was waiting for their drinks at the bar, she was approached by a man she would forget about five minutes later.

That’s not necessarily true, she would see the sleeve of symbols written over his arms, and recognize them as magical runes, and then curse her brain for remembering useless facts.

She was used to this. The woman could handle men flirting with her.

“Can I buy those for you?” He pointed to the drinks as Nathalie pulled out her credit card.

Nathalie frowned, “I would prefer if you didn’t, but thank you.” It was important to not make eye contact.

“Ah. Your husband must be very lucky, than.”

That made her laugh. The man tensed at the sound, from the corner of her eye. “W-What’s so funny?” He tried to maintain his cool but let’s be honest, her laughter was off-putting.

She took the four drinks in her hands, and glanced over to him, “You’re flirting with a happy-taken _lesbian_.”

The man went from terrified to off-put, _confused._ “No man in your life, then?”

“Never. Kindly leave me alone and have a good evening.”

Something dark crossed along the man’s face, but he nodded, and bid her a safe night. Then, he was gone, and Nathalie was bringing her drinks back to her friends.


	5. A Box Witch

 The first thing Nathalie knew that day was the sensation of Penny, shaking her awake, interrupting the nightmare which slipped away from her memory as she opened her eyes to the dim light of their bedroom.

Something, something, fire, something, something.

Something like that.

"Are you okay?" Penny was concerned. "You were screaming."

Nathalie swallowed hard. Whatever she dreamt up left her completely hollow. She wiped the sweat off of her brow. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Just a weird feeling leftover from the dream." Nathalie murmured, leaning over to kiss her partner's cheek. "I'll be fine. I don't put any stock in my dreams."

She checked the clock, realized she had to wake up in a half hour, and got out of bed. "Go back to sleep."

Nathalie knew her girlfriend was still concerned, but she would forget about it soon.

As she showered, she wondered why she felt like an empty shell. Her life should be more than enough. The cold water washed the conditioner out of her hair, and she turned the knob, switching back to hot and gathering her strength.

She arrived at work, her makeup set, her clothes pressed, her shoes shiny. Nothing about her appeared off, despite her internal turmoil.

Surprisingly, she was more put-together than her boss. Gabriel had bags under his eyes that his preferred concealer could not cover. He looked dehydrated, and Nathalie brought him a glass of water along with a double espresso.

"Sir," She placed the tray down in front of him, "is there anything I can do? Clearing schedule for the day wouldn't be difficult, if you need to rest."

He gulped down the espresso immediately. Somehow, he was impervious to extremely hot temperatures.

“Your concern is noted." He replied. "I had trouble sleeping last night. I trust you sleep well?"

"I slept fine." Her lie was automatic, and convincing.

He gave her a pointed look, and she wondered if he knew she was lying, or if he was jealous. Gabriel exhaled. "Good. Is there anything else for the morning?"

"Nothing you can't answer in an email, sir."

"I'll catch up, then. Thank you."

  
XXX

 

This was _nothing,_ Nathalie tried to tell herself, _you have scared billionaires, you can do this._

Somehow, she had not comforted herself as she sat across from Penny, at a fancy Chinese restaurant (it was her favorite). Nathalie took in the warm lighting around them while her date, who she had been dating for six months, looked over the menu.

It was no use. Penny already knew what she wanted. Perhaps she was working up the nerve to say something as well? Nathalie pressed her thumbs into her own menu, and took a sip of water.

Penny glanced up to her, and she lost her nerve, and her eyes stuck to the entrée section. “If I got the duck, would you have the leftovers? I know I won’t eat the leftovers.”

She blinked, “Wouldn’t the leftovers be at your flat?”

Nathalie’s small smile dropped, “Yes, o-of course. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Penny placed her menu on the table. “Are you,” She leaned over the table, scrutinizing Nathalie’s face, “You’re nervous!”

She pursed her lips, “And, what, my dear, am I nervous about?”

Penny tilted her head to the side, “You’re…not going to break up with me—”

“Obviously not!” She shot back, defensive.

“I know.” She smiled, her eyes warm. “I’m curious though.”

She exhaled, and pulled the spare set of keys out of her pocket, and slid them over to Penny. “I was thinking,” The woman stated in a matter-of-fact tone, “That I’m rather serious about you.”

The purple-haired woman took the keys, and turned them over in her hand, “Nat…” her voice trailed off in the most loving tone.

Taking in a shaky breath, Nathalie went on, “I—I have a very busy schedule, and I want things to continue between the two of us, but I fear with Paris Fashion Week coming up that things could grow…distant.” She frowned, “That’s probably all wrong, but I just—I feel like this is a step in the right direction.”

Penny smiled, “So things are going well?”

“When did I say that they weren’t?” Nathalie’s eyebrows pushed together. “Of course things are going well.”

It wasn’t love (it would be eventually), not by a longshot, but she didn’t want to lose Penny to distance or schedules or time. The woman had gotten used to her in her apartment, spending the night, leaving her purse on the counter, her coat over a chair. She couldn’t bear the feeling of her home without her.

“So you want me to move in with you?”

“That’d be great.” Nathalie answered, “I know your lease is coming up anyway, so if you wanted to, we could—I mean, I know I have to purge some of my stuff to make room for yours, but we can plan that out later.”

Penny sighed, “Nathalie, I don’t have a lot of stuff.”

“I know.”

“I mean, I’m not attached to my things, you know?” She glanced away, “When Jagged has a whim and moves, I have to move with him. I don’t want to say that I think he’s settled down in Paris for good, but the stuff I’ve accumulated isn’t that important to me, you know?”

“It’s still your stuff.” Nathalie protested, “It’s still important.”

 

XXX

 

“So, listen.”

Nathalie looked up from the stir-fry she had cooked for her and Penny. “What? Is it the seasoning?”

“No, it’s fine.” Penny exhaled, “I wanted to say that I think you should see someone about your nightmares.”

She squared her shoulders. “What?”

Her partner pulled a business card out of her pocket. “I know you don’t like doctors, privacy, whatever. So, I arranged for us to have a chakra cleansing.”

Nathalie beamed at the card, “Oh!”

“What?” Penny smiled, nervous, “I didn’t think you’d be this excited, actually—”

“No!” She answered, “I worked at the coffee shop next to it—I mean, well, now it’s a patisserie, but it’s so cool that this place is still in business.” Nathalie leaned back, “I haven’t seen that—Is it still Fu? That’s his name. Is that who we’re seeing?”

Her partner let out a sigh of relief, she was obviously pleased with Nathalie’s complacency. It’s what had to be done, after all. The nightmares had not ceased, and they were both losing sleep over it. What’s worse, Gabriel had noticed her complete exhaustion and ordered her to go home early on several occasions. He had promised not to hold it against her but she wasn’t sure.

They were all tired.

 

XXX

 

The next day, Nathalie approached Gabriel, and said, “Sir, I have a doctor’s appointment next Wednesday, that will take up a majority of the afternoon. I hope that isn’t an inconvenience.”

Gabriel’s head shot up. “You don’t have a doctor’s appointment.”

She raised her eyebrows, “I beg your pardon?”

He shook his head, and held up an apologetic hand, “All of your doctor’s appointments are scheduled in May, if I recall. Isn’t this month October?” His eyes widened, and his fingers formed a steep on the desk. “I mean…I _believe_ that’s the month you do that. I can’t be sure.”

Nathalie frowned, “You noticed?”

He nodded, “I did.”

“Ah,” She sucked in a breath, “It’s an appointment nonetheless, that’s nothing to worry yourself over. I’ll have an intern here to cover the phone, and I’ll get a majority of Wednesday’s work done early.”

Gabriel nodded, “Very well.”

 

XXX

 

Two weeks before Penny was set to move in, Nathalie had laid about the boxes from her childhood, unceremoniously shoved into a closet. She almost didn’t want to trifle with some of the boxes, which she hadn’t looked at since she moved out of her parent’s apartment.

_What the hell did I keep all of this for?_

It was easy to throw out the things she treasured when she was fourteen. Stuffed animals didn’t affect her, diaries were filled with insecurities that disappeared when she was sixteen, photographs were of friends long forgotten (she saved the ones of just her). She started the pilfering like she started all things, in the precise order.

Fourteen turned to fifteen, when she started working at the coffee shop on the corner. Her old work shirt was musty by now, so she tossed that aside. She did, however, save the vintage coffee mugs, and set them aside to wash later. There was her old tote bag, which she carried around with her as a purse. After that, she found a sketchbook filled with superhero designs, and laughed. It amused her that a year or so after, two supervillains would strike Paris. The fashion designs of a fifteen-year-old, who would later work in the fashion industry. That delighted her.

Then she had a moment when she realized that fifteen was the last year of her life where she felt full. She poured through two boxes and discovered a girl with hobbies, bad fashion, and passion. A young girl who didn’t take shortcuts to get straight A’s, who smiled without more often than not.

Nathalie, who had been sitting on the floor outside her closet, took in a deep breath, and glanced at the box labeled ‘16’. She cut it open and found a mostly empty box. Her hands immediately went to a gray, collegiate sweater.

It was soft and familiar. The design school she had considered applying too. She didn’t remember buying a sweatshirt from there. Perhaps her father had gotten it for her. She was about to throw it into the ‘trash’ pile when a sudden feeling pooled at the bottom of her feet. Nathalie threw the sweatshirt into the laundry that she had to do later that evening.

She found a few other trinkets, that she quickly tossed aside. She only kept one other thing, an odd, wooden jewelry box, which she placed in her nightstand. The woman had touched it as soon as she found it, and she was overwhelmed with a longing she couldn’t place.

The closet was finally cleaned out an hour later, and she called Penny, telling her that she was welcome bring over her things.

 

XXX


	6. Turned me into a newt

“Nathalie, will Father be busy at four?”

She looked up at her charge, and frowned, “No, his schedule is still free.” The woman had made sure of it, short of screaming at the man to keep his appointment with his son.

Adrien looked away, and bit his lip for a second, he curled and uncurled his right hand. Nathalie narrowed her eyes and Adrien looked in a different direction, away from her.

It was a quarter until four. “Was there anything else?” She asked him, in a mechanical voice.

“Ah!” The boy grinned, attempted to laugh off his awkwardness, “My project requires me to interview _two_ parents—and I was hoping—I mean, obviously you’re not—but if you could, that would be great, Nathalie.”

Well, obviously, she couldn’t say no.

Nathalie followed the boy in, and Gabriel’s eyebrow’s raised as she sat down next to him on the sofa, crossing her legs and making herself as small as possible. Adrien sat across from them, looking rather excited for the ‘interview’.

He set his phone down to record them.

“So, my group is focusing on superheroes.” Adrien told them, tapping his pen over the journal in his hand. “I was wondering what you two could tell me about Hawkmoth and Le Paon.”

Gabriel’s eye’s narrowed, “They were dangerous supervillains, Adrien. I’m not sure if this is the best topic you could’ve chosen.”

“Yes.” Adrien replied, “They are. Thanks, Father. Nathalie? You lived in Paris when they were active, didn’t you?”

She sucked in a breath, “Ah, I believe they were attacking while I was at University. I was always studying or in class when the attacks happened.”

The boy’s face fell, “So you never witnessed anything?”

Nathalie sucked in a breath, “I saw Hawkmoth try to rebuild the city, if that’s what you’re asking. I remember Paris panicking over what happened to his partner. The theories were…far-fetched. Do you remember them?” She turned to her boss.

“They thought Hawkmoth killed her.” Gabriel told his son quietly, “They thought she was pregnant and retired. They thought she went into hiding to work on something that would level all of Paris. Hawkmoth didn’t provide any answers. Honestly, Adrien, I think this report of yours might sensationalize terrorists.”

His son frowned, “It’s not going to be like that, Father.”

“I expect you to run your report by Nathalie before you turn it in.” He told the teenager in a firm voice. “Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

After a moment of bristling,

“What did you think?” Adrien tilted his head to the side, and scribbled something into his notebook. “Uh—happened to her?”

The father leaned back, and answered in a cool tone, “I thought that whatever happened, she was gone for good. Hawkmoth started to repair the city and help in his own way—”

“In his own way?” The boy cut his father off, clearly in a state of disbelief.

Gabriel glared at him, “Don’t interrupt during an interview. It’s rude. I only agreed to this to teach you how it’s done. He rebuilt buildings—helped students study—defend the city from sorcerers. He was a murderer, however, that much is obvious. It was a strange time, and I’m thankful he disappeared before you were born…Well, I was thankful, obviously.”

Nathalie nodded, “Hawkmoth wasn’t a hero, but he was better than what he was.”

Adrien frowned, “Did you meet him?”

She hesitated, “No.”

_No point in bringing that up._

 

XXX

 

His name and face doesn’t matter. Nathalie will not remember them when she will wake up.

She remembers the bass pounding in her ear, reverberating throughout her body like thunder. His body was against hers, and her movements echoed his. They were in sync.

Her hips navigated his as she rocked against him. His hand worked his way around her waist as her hands pressed into his chest.

The man must’ve had some sort of height advantage on her in their normal life, but she was in heels that she didn’t realize she could even walk in, much less dance in. He was only a few inches taller than her now, and his lips brushed her ear.

“Are you good at everything you do?”

Nathalie had not considered that trait in describing herself. She thought herself as a panicking imposter, convincing the people around her that she knew what she was doing. In that moment though, in the dream, she felt like she was brilliance in human form. A goddess among mortals, and he was by her side.

His hand traveled down the fabric of her skirt, and his hand pressed into her inner thigh, and he kissed her jawline, and she threw her head back. She was moving less now, or, she was letting him move her.

The next thing she knew, she felt her legs against the leather seat of a car, as they were driving to…wherever they were going, it didn’t matter. His hand held hers tightly as a news report from earlier that day, played over the radio, something about supervillains, and fires, and death. Nathalie briefly registered a feeling she couldn’t place, but he kissed her cheek, stopping her thoughts short.

Her heels felt heavier against the sidewalk and her hand was pressed into his shoulder for support. This wasn’t important, however, as the dream ended shortly after.

 

XXX

 

He spoke when Adrien fluttered out of the room, thanking them profusely, even though Nathalie and her boss were the least helpful interviewees in the history of interviews.

“That was wise of you.” Gabriel commented to her.

Nathalie was glancing at her tablet, triple-checking the next day’s schedule. She pretended to miss his point entirely, “What?”

The man exhaled, “Not mentioning the kidnapping ordeal. He’s just a boy—Adrien shouldn’t worry about those sort of things. He shouldn’t stress that Hawkmoth knows who you are.”

She nodded. “It’s not like the information would’ve been helpful to his project. He seems determined to find out what happened to Le Paon, and honestly? I don’t remember any of that day.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows at her, “You don’t? I just assumed you wouldn’t speak to me about it out of professionalism.”

Shooting him a disdainful glance, she retorted, “Yes, but you never talked to me about meeting Hawkmoth. I thought he told you that he erased my memory.”

His face remained unmoved, “No, just that you were there, and that you were safe, and probably needed a hero.”

 _You, Gabriel Agreste, are far from a hero,_ she thought immediately, amusing her to no end. Thankfully, the man couldn’t read her mind, as the phrase would now be impressed into her consciousness.

Her eyes moved to look at a bird, passing through the window, “He was a hero, for a moment. It’s important that we don’t let Adrien know that we think that, but I doubt you disagree with me, sir.”

The man shrugged, and stood, “It’s an ethical dilemma that isn’t worth my time, to be frank. He’s a villain. There’s nothing deeper than that.”

Nathalie turned towards him, “You don’t think he’d go through another reformation?”

“That would be naïve.”

 

XXX

 

Nathalie did not wake up Penny from that dream, though, she did wake up with her arm wrapped around her girlfriend’s stomach. She inhaled, taking in the scent of the woman’s shampoo, and briefly wondered how she was so lucky. There was very little she had done up until this point to deserve her.

Her mind briefly flicked back to her dream, but it was all so intangible. None of it felt real for a second, so she allowed her mind to shallowly muse over it.

She had not thought too much about men, with women around her constantly to distract her. It had not occurred to her that the fantasy of a strange man dancing with her would fill her insides with a warm substance.

Was it a stranger, or did she forget him as soon as she woke up? Natalie certainly had not forgotten the feeling around him, how dangerous she felt and how devoted he seemed. It was interesting.

“Did you have another dream?” Penny murmured, rolling over, and nuzzling into Nathalie’s shoulder.

“I didn’t realize I woke you.” She replied, “I’m sorry, No screaming, right?”

“Humming, believe it or not. What was this one about?”

She frowned, and wondered for a brief moment if Penny would ask too many questions. “I was just dancing in a club.”

The got her to laugh, her chuckling reverberated against Nathalie’s chest. “And here I thought you hated dancing.”

“I don’t remember who I was dancing with.” Nathalie admitted, “But I didn’t mind dancing with them.”

She felt her partner’s skin pull, and knew that in the dark, Penny was raising her eyebrows. “Them?”

“A man.” The woman supplied, “Just a weird dream. I don’t put stock on them.”

Penny frowned, “It’s just weird that you spend multiple nights waking up screaming, and then this one.”

Nathalie said nothing, unsure of how to comprehend this information. It wasn’t enough to cancel whatever cleansing session her girlfriend scheduled for them.

“Just because it doesn’t mean anything to you doesn’t mean it’s _unimportant,_ Nathalie.”

Now, it was her turn to smirk, “Since when have I had that mindset, darling?”

 

XXX

 

Hawkmoth had no qualms breaking into Nathalie’s work calendar. It was just another part of the job, his duty to Paris.

Nathalie was responsible, she was of an older generation. Thankfully, the woman entered in her ‘personal appointment’, along with a forwarding phone number, as though she wouldn’t have her cellphone on her while she was there. Life pre-cellphones seemed like a faraway nightmare.

Unfortunately, for Hawkmoth, he already knew the phone number by heart.


	7. Which Witch is Which?

Nathalie came to as light danced past her eyelids, she opened to her eyes to the Parisian on fire. For a moment she was confused, and she tried to move, only to discover herself tied to a utility pipe on top of a…warehouse building.

She realized that it was not her position that woke her up, but rather, someone’s voice shouting her name.

“Gabriel?” Her head toward him, and he looked as disheveled as she felt.

He breathed out a sigh of relief, and pulled a pair of fabric scissors out from an inner breast pocket. “Thank god.”

The man moved towards her, and dropped down to his knees, slowly cutting the ropes that bound her. “Are you alright?”

“I—What happened?” Her mind could not wrap around herself, or the events of that day.

“Le Paon and Hawkmoth kidnapped you.” He replied, not looking up at her, “Then that man found me and told me where you were. I don’t know what happened. Do you remember anything, Nathalie?”

She shrugged the ropes off of her. “No, I don’t.” He stood, and held out a hand for her, and she took it, immediately stood, and collapsed. He caught and steadied her. “I think my ankle is twisted, sir.”

Offering her an understanding smile, he offered to carry her, and she attempted to reject him. He placed his hands in his pockets, and nodded firmly, and watched her attempt to put weight on her foot, and fail miserably.

“Nathalie—”

“I’m fine, sir.” She insisted.

Then, suddenly, he was carrying her with complete ease. “You do not have to be tough right now, I promise. You went through an ordeal, and when we get back to the mansion, you _will_ lie down and I will call my GP.”

“But—”

“Do not stall me, those terrorists might return soon.”

She did not say another word as he carried her down a set of maintenance stairs with ease. He seemed as comfortable in the silence as she was.

 

XXX

 

Penny appeared in Nathalie’s office at the headquarters as the woman was gathering her coat and purse. “Ready, darling?”

She gave her girlfriend a stiff nod, and knocked on Gabriel’s door before entering.

The man had been muted all morning, and she assumed he was exhausted, but now, he was riled up, pacing. He had most likely not heard her knock. His energy bounced off the walls.

“Sir?” She spoke up, closing the door behind her. Allowing herself to show the inward concern she felt, she leaned against the door, wondering if she should cancel her appointment.

He stopped immediately as soon as he saw her, “Nathalie, yes, what is it?” He was frazzled, and he attempted to smooth back the strands of hair which tickled his eyebrows.

“I’m leaving for that appointment.” She stated. “Is everything alright, sir? Do you need something?”

Gabriel offered her a thin smile. “I’m fine, thank you. Have a lovely afternoon. I’ll call if there’s an emergency.”

Nathalie was about to leave, but paused, let out a painful breath, and replied, “Are you sure, sir? I can always reschedule, if there’s an issue.”

The man looked like he briefly considered telling her to cancel, but shook his head, “It’s fine, Nathalie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright, sir, have a good afternoon.”

 

XXX

 

Gabriel got them back to the mansion quickly, calling a cab for them. She had requested to be taken to the hospital, but he sneered.

“For a twisted ankle, Nathalie?” He asked, “The ER is overcrowded as is. I’ll put your foot on ice and wrap it.”

“Wrap it?” She raised an eyebrow.

He spoke as though whatever he was saying was already obvious, “I was a gymnast in my youth, I can wrap your foot just fine.”

Her eyebrows raise as he set her down on a sofa in his office. “I didn’t realize you did gymnastics.”

His face fell for a moment, “I…I never told you? That’s right. Well, I _was_. I’m going to get some ice and wraps. I’ll be back soon.”

She exhaled, asked for some aspirin, and waited. For the first time in a long time, her mind was numbingly silent.

Nathalie Sancoeur would get used to this silence over time, but at this very moment, it was jarring. She picked up a magazine off the coffee table, absorbing herself in a boring economic report, waiting for her boss to return.

The woman didn’t know it yet, but she was about to do a lot more reading in her life.

Gabriel reappeared, carrying a small tray of supplies. “Come on, take off your shoe. We’re going to have to elevate your leg to prevent the swelling.”

She moved to take off her shoe and immediately cried out through gritted teeth. “I’ve never twisted my ankle before, sorry.”

Looking up at him, the man looked as though he’d seen a ghost, “Really? It’s a common injury. Nevertheless, I’m sorry it hurts.”

Her eyebrows pushed together, “Are you alright?”

“I was worried about you, Nathalie.” He admits slowly. “That’s all.”

 

XXX

 

Nathalie passed the coffee shop where she worked as she held her partner’s hand, and almost did a double take at the now patisserie. She was suddenly swelling with anxiety at the building, and remembered how shy she once was, when she worked there.

“What?” Penny nudged her girlfriend, “You look faraway.”

“I was just thinking about how everything’s changed around here.” A half-lie. Good enough. They walked down two more storefronts, and they were in front of the shop, and Nathalie only felt as though her entire was filled with cotton. “And, I’m nervous that this man won’t have the miracle we’re looking for you.”

The woman nodded back to her, and opened the door of the studio, “We have each other, that’s enough of a miracle.” She shot her slightly-flushed girlfriend a wild grin, and went through the entrance.

Nathalie followed her inside, to the studio’s small reception area. A small bell signified their arrival, but she did not see the bell in question. Fu appeared shortly thereafter, looking exactly as she remembered him. Perhaps a little older, but she wasn’t going to ask him how old he was.

“Good afternoon. Ms. Rolling and Ms. Sancoeur, I assume?”

“Yes.” Penny introduced them to the old man. She was the politer of the two of them, even if by a small manage.

He offered his hand first to Nathalie, and held her hand for a moment, turning it over, and he read her palm for a moment. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” His voice was casual, as though they were old friends

She withdrew her hand, confused. “Perhaps. I worked at the café shop at the corner, before it closed.”

“It was a shame, when it burnt down.”

“I agree, sir.” Nathalie replied. “Shall we get started?” She glanced over to Penny, who offered a warm smile.

Fu nodded, and led them both into one room, and then another. There were three pillows set on the floor surrounding a small bowl of oil, with a lit wick in the center. He instructed them to each have a seat in a comfortable position, and then, the lights dimmed.

In the distance, Nathalie could hear the recorded music of a classical guitar, or some kind. It somehow drowned out the noises of the busy street outside the building.

“So,” He sat down in front of them, “Penny says you’re having nightmares. What of, Nathalie?”

“Mostly fire.” She stated, carefully. The woman could feel Penny’s gaze permeating her. _Perhaps I should have told her before._ “I don’t remember much else.”

Fu nodded, and stood. He walked around her. “What does the fire looks like?”

The woman heard him rifling through a bureau, but she didn’t back. She shifted, so that she sat cross-legged, instead. “I can’t remember. Regular fire, I assume.”

He brought back two canvas bags. “Do you remember the heat, however?”

“I don’t.” She stated. “Or, I didn’t feel the heat in my dreams.”

He nodded, sat down, and placed his hand into one of the small coin purses. The man threw a small amount of sand into the bowl.

Suddenly, a large flame, the color of a blue diamond, spit up and wide around them, and was gone as quickly and as violently as it appeared. Penny yelped, and scrambled backwards. Fu and Nathalie were visibly unphased, but she glared at the old man, and looked over to her girlfriend.

“Are you alright?” She asked. In truth, she wanted Penny to ask her if she was okay. She suddenly felt very, very ill, as though her core was spinning nonstop.

Penny returned to the green cushion was sitting. “I’m _fine._ ” She stated. “What the hell was that?”

Fu’s mouth formed a thin line, “That depends. Nathalie, did you recognize that fire?”

“I…It was the same fire Le Paon used.” She replied slowly.

“It was.” He nodded. “Do you have any clue as to why you’re having nightmares about Le Paon?”

Nathalie narrowed her eyes, and dug her nails into her palms.

He smirked, “Try your best not to be apprehensive, Ms. Sancoeur.”

Her eyebrows raised. “I’m not being—”

“Babe.” Penny’s voice cut her off. “You need to be open-minded about this.” She turned to the man she was certainly overpaying. “I’m sorry, Nathalie doesn’t put much stock in dreams.”

 “I was a young woman in Paris when she was active. I don’t understand how nightmares are so unheard of.” Nathalie answered. The woman realized that, if pressed, she wouldn’t be able to explain her apprehensiveness beyond this very, very moot point. She exhaled. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

He pressed his lips together, and nodded. Now, he was waiting for her to continue.

She felt her girlfriend watching her, and reminded herself that Penny wouldn’t break up with her over something as silly as this. Penny loved her, and reminded her of that fact often, even though she knew it.

“When I was twenty-three, Le Paon and Hawkmoth kidnapped me.”

Penny took in a sharp breath, and Fu’s eyes widened. Nathalie felt her nausea rise, and she continued.

 

XXX

 

Gabriel met Nathalie Agreste the same way you meet most people, by smacking into them in the middle of a café.

He’s fairly certain she worked there, but he was only in the coffeeshop studying while his parents were renovating the study in the Agreste mansion.

She was rushing out the door when they collided. Her canvas bag spilled out, and his leather messenger bag was a casuality as well.

If this had happened ten years later, Gabriel would’ve been infuriated. Supervillain-work did not encourage kindness and patience (two traits he would attempt to work toward for a long time after, up until Mrs. Agreste’s disappearance). But he wasn’t Hawkmoth at this time. Instead, he was apologetic to the young girl, and bent down to sift through for this things.

The girl was as forgiving as she could be. She was in a rush. He looked up at her, grabbing the things around him without looking.

She was, well, she looked sixteen. A child, by Gabriel’s 22-year-old mind. In time, she would grow into her sharp nose and jaw. She would find a more flattering pair of glasses. Her sense of fashion would change form “oh god please don’t look at me” ot something more complimentary of her shape.

“I’m sorry about that.” He murmured, “I wasn’t looking where I was going. It was completely my—”

In truth, he did not think it was _one-hundred_ percent his fault, but he was a good man. It was a non-issue.

“It’s fine.” She told him in a forced tone. She picked up the rest of her things, and hopped out, leaving the building like a wild storm.

Five seconds later, when he was still collecting his sketching pencils, he would spot a small, six-sided jewelry box. The man knew it was her’s immediately. Snatching it up immediately, he ran outside, and looked every which way for a head of red and black hair.

Unfortunately, the girl was gone.

 

XXX

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Penny turned to her after she finished her very short story about that very short day.

“There isn’t much to tell.” She replied, slightly annoyed.

The woman quickly glanced to Fu, then back to Penny pointedly. She pushed her eyebrows together, but nodded. This discussion wasn’t over.

Penny turned back to Fu, and asked the man as her patience faded, “So, is the chakra cleansing next?”

Fu blinked, “I think a general cleansing would be beneficial to both you.”

Nathalie began feeling sick as soon as Fu lit the incense and sage. She tried to clear her mind as he instructed her, but the odd scents traveled up her nose, and she could taste the bile building inside of her, and briefly wondered if she ate something bad for breakfast that day.

“Nat,” Penny murmured, when the man left the room momentarily, “You look pale.”

“I feel very nauseous.” She turned to her girlfriend. “Do you think he has a bathroom somewhere?”

The woman nodded, and pointed. There was an odd door, and the woman stood, quickly trying to get past the door as quickly as possible, before the aura healer returned.

She was in luck, and whatever she threw up into the man’s toilet, it was unrecognizable black bile, that’s smell was enough to make her want to throw up again.

The woman stood, flushed the toilet, and immediately felt faint. Her hand pressed against the wall, but it wasn’t enough as her brain pounded against her skull, and her vision faded in and out. She tried to call for Penny, but she could hardly find the strength in her vocal chords to make the words, and then she felt herself tumbling downwards.

Arms were suddenly around her, and she looked up, and saw the familiar silver cowl of a man she hadn’t seen since she was twenty-five.

“Hey, remember me?” He murmured.

Then, reality slipped away to unconsciousness.


	8. A witch in sheep's clothing

Nathalie stirred awake, and reached over to the other side of her bed, searching for her girlfriend's form beneath the covers.

Then, her mind caught back up to her, recollecting the session with Master Fu, the vomiting, the Hawkmoth appearing by her side as she collapsed into him.

She would have to find her phone and call Penny. There were about a thousand things to explain.

Still dressed, she clambered out of bed and wavered over to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Making her way into the main room, she froze in her doorway, mustering up a glare at the man.

Hawkmoth was pouring her a cup of tea. "Afternoon, Ms. Sancoeur." He greeted her in a calm tone. "How are we feeling?"

She crossed her arms. "You're an empath. You tell me."

"Furious." He stated. "Annoyed, though. I don't think you like being told how to feel."

"Okay. Why do you keep saving me?"

Hawkmoth rolled his eyes, and went to her fridge, taking out a jar of honey. "I don't think 'saving' you twice in over fifteen years is a pattern." The man glanced over at her, and glared at her. "That was _not_ an invitation to put yourself in needless danger, Ms. Sancoeur."

 Her eyebrows pushed together, and she watched him prepare her a cup of tea. He stirred in the honey, because somehow, the man knew how he liked it. "What do you know about the nightmares, Hawkmoth?" Her voice was barely about a whisper.

The man shrugged. "I don't. I know that you're one of the most emotionally muted people in all of Paris. You're relaxing to focus on, so it's not hard to sense when you're in turmoil. I'm sorry you're going through whatever you're going through."

Nathalie swallowed. "I see blue fire, Hawkmoth. I think...I think it has something to do with Le Paon."

He frowned. "Nathalie, I erased your memories from that day for a good reason.  Don't interfere with them."

"It's been long enough." She stated. "I cannot live like this. You have to lift whatever magic you put on me."

"I-"

They both heard keys jingle near the door. The villain tensed.

Hawkmoth swallowed. "I have to go."

"This isn't over." Nathalie growled.

"Don't tell your partner." With this threat, the man was gone.

 

XXX

 

Believe it or not, Nathalie had a large amount of energy for an adult in her mid-twenties. So, she walked home from work fairly regularly, as the extra kilometers zapped her enough to get her into bed at night.

She said goodbye to Gabriel before leaving the office (they worked later hours when they were younger, as they were very understaffed), and walked through the darkening streets of Paris.

It was like any other walk back to her apartment.

This statement would prove to be false, but Nathalie was getting used to the silence of the world around her. She woke up, put on makeup, went to work, and then went home. The only deviation was whatever route she felt like taking. It was simply too boring to take the same way home every time, even if it was the most efficient.

Getting used to the routine had been difficult, but paid off. Her efficiency was through the roof, the Gabriel brand was expanding, and she was slowly seeing the fruit of success.

There was no point in pretending that she was fearless, however. The woman checked behind her shoulder often enough, she gripped her eyes in her hand and made sure to walk with confidence. Nathalie knew better than anyone that the city was dangerous. Still, she was young.

So, when she saw a group of men huddled on the sidewalk further down the block, she veered into an odd stone driveway that led into the alleys, knowing there was a better path around them.

She should’ve just turned around, that would’ve been her life a lot simpler. There were another group of men in the alley, and she realized that she was cornered.

The woman had enough accounting skills to realize that the fifty euros in her wallet wouldn’t be enough for the eight men surrounding her, Now, Nathalie had a set of very different fears.

It was suddenly that she saw the antihero of Paris, appear next to her, and pull her to him.

In the next instant, they were in an alley next to her apartment building, and he was pulling away from her. She took in a breath, and realized the mere sight of him made her breathless.

“Uh…thank you.” She stated, “I don’t know what I would’ve done, if something had happened to me.”

His smile was curt. “Of course. I’ll leave you here then.”

Though, Hawkmoth didn’t seem to _want_ to leave. In fact, the man turned back to her and clasped his hands behind his back. He took in a short breath and asked, “How are you, Nathalie?”

She was taken aback and unafraid. After all, the man could hardly be described as a vigilante. He would never be Paris’s spotless hero (ironically, one with spots would appear about twenty years later). “I’m fine. I just—you erased my memory from that day, and I don’t know why.” Nathalie scanned his face, trying to understand him. “I don’t know if you know me, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t—I mean—I probably could’ve _handled_ it just fine.”

Hawkmoth raised his eyebrows at her, and smiled, “You’re stammering is charming, Ms. Sancoeur, but you won’t convince me to restore your memories.”

Nathalie’s fist balled. “I just—do you erase memories often?”

“Sure.”

“Do they, your champions and akumas, always feel this…hollow?” Her eyes widened, “Oh my god—I didn’t mean to dump that on you—you probably don’t want to—”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” The man placed his hand on her shoulder, his words softly permeating her skin, “But what Le Paon did, it was too much for any human being to handle, even one as capable as you, Ms. Sancoeur.”

She exhaled, not knowing what else to say.

He clicked his tongue, removed his hand, and murmured, “I’ll be leaving then. Have a good evening, Ms. Sancoeur.”

With this, and an awkward smile, he was gone.

 

XXX

 

"Nathalie?" Penny's voice rang through the apartment. She spotted her girlfriend, standing their awkwardly by the kitchen island. "What the hell happened?"

The woman took a deep breath, and came to terms with a simple fact: lying to Penny wasn't an option in this situation.

She clasped her hands behind her back. "There's something we need to talk about."

"Yeah." Her eyes widened, her tone was scathing. "Why the hell did you bail?"

Nathalie exhaled. "Penny, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone else. I need you to try to remain calm."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Nathalie, you're one of the most private people I've ever, whatever it is, you can _tell_ me.”

There was something in her girlfriend’s eyes, and how they wouldn’t exactly meet Nathalie’s eyes. They met her forehead, the tip of her nose, her lips, the rims of her glasses. A thought nagged at her.

“What did Fu say?”

“What happened?”

“Answer my question.”

“You answer mine, Nathalie.” Penny insisted, “He has a theory. I want to hear yours.”

She sighed. “Hawkmoth brought me back here. I don’t know what his fascination with me is.” Taking in a breath, she went. “He rescued me from muggers, a year after the kidnapping, and—I’ve _checked_ the forums, I watched every documentary _about_ him—and I’m the only he saved—”

Penny pulled the woman into a crushing hug, and after a second, Nathalie’s heart stopped pounding. She felt her girlfriend run a hand in circles around her back, and she tilted her head down, kissing the woman’s forehead.

“That’s what Fu told me.” She told her girlfriend, “Everything’s going to be okay, Nat.”

After a moment, Penny Rolling spoke again.

“So you spoke to him?”

“He told me that he erased my memory.” She replied and pulled back. “And there’s no one to talk to because _no one else_ was kidnapped as far as I know, or at least, they don’t know, you know? And I’ve spent so much time feeling completely alone about it and I don’t appreciate him popping into my life whenever my emotional aura shifts.”

She pushed her eyebrows together, “Emotional aura?”

Nathalie clicked her tongue, “He’s an empath, he can read anyone’s feelings at anytime throughout the city, even when he’s de-transformed. Our aura is a spiritual energy surrounding us at all times, reflecting our emotions and energy.” She rolled her eyes, “What’s _frustrating_ is that Hawkmoth has a rare set of abilities. He, as a magic user, can read spiritual energy. Magic users don’t normally get to cross into that field without years of hard work, which means that most magic users can’t stop him from getting a read on them.”

Penny narrowed her eyes. “How do you know this?”

“I probably read it when I was doing research.” She pushed past the subject, “Even so, there’s no way of preventing him from reading my aura whenever he wants. Even _he_ can’t turn it off.”

Her girlfriend tilted her head to the side, and nodded. She moved towards the sink, set on doing the dishes. “So, what’s the main difference, between spirituality and magic?”

“Ah.” Nathalie exhaled. “Spiritualism, is basically magic having to do with human souls. It’s a completely different field from miraculous magic because miraculous work magic outside the human soul. Akuma can’t corrupt a person, for example, but can corrupt an object of a human, and akumatize that human. That’s the only bridge between the two in the lower subset. That’s while you never saw Le Paon use her powers to set a person directly on fire.”

“Directly on fire.” They did not have a dishwasher, so Penny began to violently scrub a dinner plate. Sadly, Nathalie didn’t notice.

“Yes. She would set the things around that person on fire. The fire would start magically but spread organically, without magic, that is.” She added.

There was a silence between them. Penny shut off the faucet, and exhaled.

“And Hawkmoth erased your memory of the day you were kidnapped?”

“Yes.”

“Promise me?” 

Nathalie nodded, “Why would I lie about that?”

Penny looked at her girlfriend, assessed her for a moment, and nodded. “I believe you, Nat, I do. I believe Hawkmoth erased your memory.”

She said nothing, wondering why her partner was suddenly being so deliberate in her words, why her back suddenly straightened. Everything loose and free about Penny Rolling was now strictly put-together, and well guarded. It reminded Nathalie of herself, almost.

“But I have an alternate theory.”


	9. Burning

While Nathalie realizing that she would do almost anything to keep Penny Rolling by her side, Gabriel was across Paris wringing his hands. He twisted his wedding band around his finger, and paced around the office.

"Everything will be fine, Master." Nooroo flew just above the man's shoulder. "It was not enough to break the spell."

Gabriel and his kwami did not agree on most topics, but they did agree that Nathalie Sancoeur should never regain her memories as one of the greatest villains of all time.

They had to agree on this one good deed. It was the only thing, the need to prevent Le Paon from re-activating, that kept Nooroo from falling ill.

"The magic will not hold if she's doing things remnant of superheroism." He told the kwami. The Nooroo knew this, it was more for Gabriel's benefit. "The more she is reminded of her abilities, the closer she is to remember everything."

Nooroo flew in front of his master, and Gabriel stopped in his tracks, and glared at the butterfly. They had a complicated history, as the man jumped from supervillian to superhero to supervillian again.

"Sir, is that what's bothering you?"

"Yes."

The butterfly flew towards the computer, and landed on top of the monitor. They had perfected the technology perfectly. The footage showed everything the Evil-Lister saw.

Gabriel followed, staring at the video loop, of Nathalie jumping in front of Penny. He watched it one more time. She protected her girlfriend, like most normal people would. Unfortunately, Nathalie wasn’t like most people.

"What is your point, Nooroo?"

It was no use. The designer already knew what had infuriated him about the entire 'Penny Rolling' situation.

"She never threw herself in front of you." The kwami stated.

How many times had Gabriel almost sacrificed himself for her? He had lost count in the years they had worked together. No, he had to stop thinking about it that way, working _for_ her.

"She was sixteen, she's changed." Nooroo floated to the man's shoulder. "Even if she regained her memories, there's no guarantee that she would become a supervillian again."

Gabriel grimaced, and turned towards the picture of his wife.

"We agreed that he would rest." He opened the portrait, and punched in the numbers of the safe. "But Duusu will known better than us if the magic between Nathalie and her memories is unraveling."

Nooroo said nothing. He might’ve agreed with his master, for all Gabriel knew, but it didn’t matter. If he protested awakening the peacock kwami, he wouldn’t have said anything at all.

He activated the peacock broach, and caught the bird as he fell through the air, still, two decades later, too weak to even fly.

"Are you hungry?" Gabriel's voice was soft, as he cupped Duusu in his hands, feeling the bird's chest take short breaths.

"Very."

Gabriel migrated to the kitchen, where he found Nooroo, who had arranged a large pile of various berries.

He set the peacock down, and the bird made slow work. Then, he let his mind wash over Paris. He found Nathalie in a matter of seconds. She was in her apartment with the Rolling woman. She was blindingly happy. The events of the evening felt like a nightmare.

And her kwami did not have the strength for idle chit chat. Which was fine, Duusu would've screamed his head off if he knew that Hawkmoth had returned to villain work.

"Are you still bonded with Nathalie?"

The kwami nodded. "Yes."

That was no good. Gabriel Agreste had full intentions of returning Duusu to The Guardian when the kwami was no longer able to reveal Nathalie's identity. There was always a chance that the old man wouldn’t do anything with Duusu’s knowledge, but it wasn’t a chance Gabriel was willing to take.

The quicker Duusu's bond with Nathalie was broken, the quicker The Guardian could heal him.

He wished he could break the habit he had formed. The one that protected her and kept her safe and loved her and forgave her for what she had done. Adrien had brought out a kindness in her, a ruthless caring spirit for the boy that warmed Gabriel to his core. Penny was bringing out her emotions, one by one, and although he was sure that this could be her ultimate catalyst, it was still nice to see his assistant finally recovering.

Duusu cleared his throat, and tried to muster the strength to speak.

"Spell...will b-break soon." The kwami fell into Gabriel's arm, "Love makes her...stronger."

He gasped for air, and tears fell down the bird's face.

Nooroo shoved the brooch out of Gabriel's hand, and the Peacock kwami was gone.

When Gabriel stopped shaking, he turned to his kwami, clicked his tongue, and remarked, "Something has to be done."

 

XXX

 

The first thing a young man does when he realizes he can become a superhero (even if it’s a butterfly-themed one) is transform.

The second thing said man does is immediately collapse in complete agony over the emotions around him, permeating and dancing around his mind were the people of Paris. Although Gabriel Agreste was an ocean of feelings and emotions, in his normal life, he tried not to care about the feeling’s of others. Life had been easier that way, and the empathy had made his brain want to explode.

The third thing was the young man yelling at the kwami for not adequately warning him. In Nooroo’s defense, Gabriel Agreste is one of those miraculous holders who could either be really evil or really good. The kwami had dealt with his type before and shied away from being over-explanative.

A week later, when Gabriel adjusted to the whole empathy thing, he found himself drawn to those with little to no emotional register. It was easy to find them, in crackling bureaucracies, in student apartments, and the restaurant industry. No. There was one floating roughly three-hundred meters in the air.

The man peeked out his window, spotted the Eiffel tower, and glanced over to Nooroo. “Who would be at the top of the tower at this time of night?”

The kwami landed on the man’s shoulder, “I would not know, but we could always find out.”

 

XXX

 

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” Nathalie put her hands in her pockets as she glared at her girlfriend, “If I was a supervillain for six years, I’d think I’d know.”

Still, she didn’t quite believe her own words. After all, she spent decades as an assistant paid to win arguments with other assistants. Guessing Penny’s next argument was child’s play.

Penny, in question, was doing everything within herself to remain calm. Her anger danced underneath the surface of her skin, though. Nathalie was unsure why she was so angry, there could be a million reasons. “You said Hawkmoth erased your memory of that day? How would you know if he didn’t erase six years?”

Nathalie tried to take in a calm breath, and failed over her words, “Don’t you think I would know that I’m missing a significant portion of my life? Wouldn’t I feel empty?”

The woman sighed, “Setting _that_ aside—”

“Excuse me?”

“Setting aside the fact that I know you well enough to know when you’re lying,” Penny sighed, leaned against the counter, a massaged the bridge of her nose, “Don’t you think it’s odd that Hawkmoth is infatuated with you?”

Nathalie chuckled, “Come on—that’s a stretch. He’s not anything to me.”

Penny looked at her, “The man erased your memories and has popped in your life twice, once as a reclusive villain. You can’t deny that that means something.”

She frowned, not wanting to give an inch of room to the woman, but not wanting to dampen their relationship over this argument, either. After all, if it turned out that Nathalie Sancouer wasn’t Le Paon, it would be a non-issue, something they’d laugh about (in private) later. If it turned out that she was, however, the woman wasn’t sure how Penny would feel about dating her.

Most people probably considered dating a retired supervillain to be socially unacceptable.

“Even so,” The woman replied, “We’d have no way of proving it unless my memories returned, or if Hawkmoth confirmed it himself, which I doubt he would.”

Penny frowned, “Then let’s try and get your memories back.”

Nathalie glanced back at the woman, “Why the hell would I want to do that? I—I can’t even _see_ myself being Le Paon. I can handle a day’s worth of torture but I don’t think I could handle the memories of doing the torturing.”

“You’d remember Hawkmoth’s identity.” Her girlfriend suggested, “It’s a matter of passing that name onto Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“I wouldn’t remember him.” Nathalie frowned, “If he erased my memory, he used an akuma, aka miraculous magic, which provides and airtight seal to the identities of their users.”

Her girlfriend looked as though she wanted to say something, but settled on a questioning look.

Nathalie exhaled, “Even if I remembered _everything_ from the hypothetically six years of memory, the magic would not fail to prevent me from remembering Hawkmoth’s identity. I would…I guess remember a blur of a man.”

Penny frowned, “So you just—what—have a vast knowledge of magic, huh? How’d you learn all of this?”

She opened her mouth to speak, realized she was going to lie, and glanced away, “I don’t know, Penny.”

Nathalie Sancoeur felt as though her entire stomach was in the eye of a hurricane.

 

XXX

 

Hawkmoth landed 1 meter away from a woman in blue, standing on the almost-top of the tower. She—

_Peacock-theme._

He cleared his throat, and she immediately turn back towards him, throwing several knife like barbs towards him. He transported away, further up the tower, and looked down at her.

She looked up him behind a dark blue veil, held by a fascinator on her head, and her eyes widened. He winced at the sudden, quick flash of anger, “ _You!_ You stole my brooch!”

Gabriel realized that it was the teenaged girl who crashed into him a week or so ago, and he pointed to her brooch, “You already have one, it would seem.”

“I don’t care.”

“Look kid, I get it, but I’m not giving this back.” He replied, “But, I could use a partner.”

She raised her eyebrows at her, “I don’t want a partner.”

“Well, miss, I hope you have a lovely evening, in that case.”

Gabriel Agreste transported away.

 

He found her again, three weeks later, when he sensed her, violently upset. Hawkmoth teleported a block away from her, and grimaced at the scene around him, the coffee shop was burning, and the fire department had some difficulty putting out a wash of blue flame.

The man transported beside her, as she stood on a nearby roof, watching the chaos.

“There was a manager at the store.” She told him, in a careful, “He was really awful to me and—”

Gabriel pulled her into a crushing hug, “It’s okay.”

“I tried to—and then the whole café just burst into flames.” The girl could hardly breathe, “I couldn’t just set _him_ on fire.”

He ran a hand over the crown of her head, trying his best to be comforting, when he had zero instincts for it. “It was an accident, Paon. You’re going to be okay.”

In an unsurprising turn of events, neither of them were going to be okay.


	10. Green is not your color

“No Penny, tonight?” Caline slid over Nathalie’s drink from across the table.

“She’s…” She took a sip of the gin and tonic, wondering how much she should say. Nathalie, in truth, was trying to will her stomach to not feel like it was tied up in a tight ball. “We’re having some difficulties,” The woman admitted slowly.

Nathalie knew Caline though, and knew she would be surprised by two things. One: that Penny Rolling and Nathalie Sancoeur (who, by all accounts, exist under the perfect conditions for a perfect relationship) were ‘having some difficulties’ and Two: That Nathalie even admitted that to Caline (who is supposed to be her oldest and closest friend).

Caline ordered them another round before the end of happy hour, “Well, you wouldn’t have told me about it at all if you didn’t want to talk about it. What’s going on?”

Leaning forward, she squeezed a slice of lime into her drink, “It’s a situation where I want to talk about it, but can’t. Does that make sense?”

“Is the sex frustrating?”

Snorting, she shook her head, “It’s more…I guess, about me.”

Her best friend pushed her eyebrows together, “I did not hear that right.”

“It’s me,” Nathalie explained, “There are some things about me that Penny and I disagree on.”

“Such as?”

She sucked in a breath, “I can’t say.”

Caline exhaled, “Change of subject?”

“That would be best,” she agreed, “Though, I have to ask you, because my memory has been spotty.”

_She will not put anything together if you ask carefully._

“Did I ever mention Hawkmoth to you?” Nathalie asked the woman, “When we lived together?”

“You were more obsessed with Gabriel.” She replied slowly, “I mean, I’d mention Hawkmoth and Le Paon and you brushed it off.” Caline took a sip of her drink, “I figured you found the entire situation traumatic, so I didn’t bring it up.”

Nathalie frowned, “Right.”

The redhead smirked, “Is this your roundabout way of asking me about your crush on your now-boss?”

That caused a look of confusion to cross the woman’s face. Unfortunately, for the _very_ gay Nathalie Sancoeur, stranger things had happened to her. She went along, “Did I have a crush on him?”

“You did, you don’t remember?” Caline chortled, “You two were both in the same, what class—business marketing.”

She faked a pleased sigh, “That’s right, he was.” (In truth, she had no idea what Caline was talking about.)

Blinking, Callie pressed her lips together, “He was kind to you, I think. At least, I know you worked on a project with him and acted like you were so uninterested in him, and he was nothing but charming.”

Nathalie nodded.

“Did I…” Her voice trailed off, “Was I strange, to you? I mean when we first met, of course.”

“Yeah,” She answered, “You had a meticulous schedule, you were intensely private. I know we never brought it up, but you always locked your bedroom door, and I only knew that because I heard you constantly unlocking and locking it.”

 

XXX

 

She returned to the apartment, and Penny was curled under a blanket. “How’s Callie?”

“She’s fine.” Nathalie kissed the crown of her girlfriend’s head, “I tried to get some answers out of her.”

Penny looked at her girlfriend, “What? Why?”

The woman sat across from the purple-haired goddess, and breathed out. “I know it may seem like I don’t want answers. I _do._ And—” The woman exhaled, “I have my old planners from back then. They’re in a box in my office. I can start cross-referencing times of attack with gaps in my schedules.”

“And you trust you didn’t just lie in the planners?”

“No.” Nathalie answered plainly. “As a matter-of-fact, my first thought was that I would fill in fake appointments in order to cover up my tracks.”

Penny gave her a hard look. “Did Caline help?”

She nodded, and stood, “It’s difficult to say. I didn’t mention anything concerning amnesia. Are their gaps in memory because I simply forgot them in time, or was I forced to forget them through magic? Is it a side effect?” Nathalie swallowed, “That being said…”

“You think it’s possible.” Her girlfriend didn’t disguise the complete distaste in her voice.

The woman winced at the cold tone, “I think it would be pertinent to discuss steps from here. What do you want to do if it turns out I was never Le Paon?”

She sat next to Penny, who leaned over, resting her head on the woman’s shoulder. “I think we need to rebuild us. I think this has been really trying, and I don’t want to say ‘start over’, but it’d be nice to take a few steps back and reflect. I don’t want to move out, but I think we have to learn to trust each other again.”

Nathalie took in her words, which were completely fair. They were in agreement. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, “And if I was Le Paon?”

Penny did not speak for some time, and Nathalie took in her life up until that point. Her feelings had never felt so strong for another person, and she intended to hold onto the as long as she could.

“I find it unforgiveable.” She stated, finally, “What Le Paon did isn’t excusable, even twenty years later.”

“Would it help to say,” Nathalie rubbed the woman’s shoulder, trying to be comforting, “That I honestly don’t think I have it in me to be her. Even when I think about myself as a teenager. I can’t reconcile it.”

She breathed out, “Would you be sorry?”

“What can I say? You did nothing to deserve this kind of situation in your life.” Nathalie pretended to miss the point entirely, “I’d be sorry for that.”

Penny sighed, and sat up, “Well, if you’re going to ignore the question. We should get to bed.”

She gritted her teeth. “ _I don’t know, Penny._ ”

“That’s fantastic, Nathalie, I thought you were very self-aware,” and, “I’m going to bed.”  

Nathalie hesitated. “I could sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t.” Her girlfriend replied, panicked. For all of Penny’s attempts to remain detached, she sounded flushed with feeling, “Please, Nat, come to bed. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if you weren’t there.”

 

XXX

 

Her planners contained proof. Not enough proof to prove her guilt in a court of law, but Nathalie knew.

For one, Nathalie only got her hair done once a month, on the third, at five in the afternoon, every month for twenty years. This was her distinctive memory. There were at least two extra hair appointments, along with ‘waxing’ appointments at salons that were no longer in business. Doctor’s appointments were too easy to check back on.

Most attacks corresponded to an appointment that wasn’t easily verifiable, but plausible. Some attacks had nothing written down, but she understood the cover-up.

More-so, she understood herself.

Shoving all the planners back into a box, she stood from her desk, felt her entire body protest at the motion.

She stiffened, and turned back to the filing cabinet, pretending to search for something as Gabriel passed her. “Nathalie? You look pale.”

“I skipped foundation this morning,” She lied, her voice hollow, “I’m fine, really. Thank you for the concern, sir.”

“If you’re feeling unwell, go home.” He told her, “Staying here will make whatever it is worse.”

Nathalie turned towards him, “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” The man nodded.

“Then I’ll keep that in mind in the future.” She told him, resuming her filing.

She heard him exhale, and exit, leaving for his meeting. Nathalie might’ve attended, but Adrien needed to be taken care of. Summer had been in full swing, and the boy required her attention in place of his father’s.

The woman glanced at her phone, ignored a text from Penny, asking about the planners, and headed towards the elevator to the floor where Adrien was finishing up a shoot.

 

XXX

 

Gabriel woke up in a cold sweat a few hours before his alarm clock. He blinked rapidly, and his mind reached out to Paris immediately.

He sensed her distress immediately. Nathalie was sleeping, and her nightmare was overwhelming on her. He swallowed, and immediately searched for Nooroo. His former partner had never had nightmares like this before, and he knew they could only lead to worse ones.

His kwami was in his closet, snoozing in the sock drawer.

The butterfly's eyes shot open. "Oh no." The creature muttered.

Throwing himself out of bed, he rushed to his wardrobe, throwing on a dress shirt and trousers. "My phone, Nooroo, I need-" Gabriel choked at the next emotional wave that passed through him. He gasped, and his hand gripped the side of a shelf, which came tumbling down, sending several pairs of oxfords clattering to the floor. The man yelped back, and he was finally fully awake.

The kwami handed him the phone, and he almost called her, when he dropped the phone. On top of his trembling hands, he realized that it would be far too suspicious to call her.

"Gabriel." The kwami murmured, "Adrien's coming."

He forced himself to breath when he heard the knock on his bedroom door. The man buttoned his shirt, “Yes, Adrien?”

His son opened the door, and peered inside to a bedroom he had not seen in years, “I heard shouting.”

“Just a nightmare.” Gabriel brushed the issue aside, “I’m fine. You should go back to sleep.”

The blonde grimaced, “Are you going out?”

“No.” He lied, “Just to the study. I won’t be able to sleep, I’m afraid.”

“This is a disaster, Nooroo.” He told the kwami as he headed down the stairs, to his private library. “First the akuma and now the nightmares?”

The butterfly flew behind him, saying nothing. It made no difference, Gabriel and Nooroo had been companions for over two decades. The man knew that his kwami would tell him not to worry.

They were good at lying to each other.

 

XXX

 

Gabriel had told Nathalie not to get Adrien addicted to coffee. AKA “Nathalie, do _not_ give my son any coffee you brew.”

Of course, she didn’t follow this rule. As soon as she arrived to the photoshoot, Adrien found her.

He mimed drinking a coffee cup. Nathalie nodded. Adrien grinned, held up three fingers, and Nathalie promptly disappeared to the craft services, where she found the rolling espresso station (her own idea and design). She prepared three shots of espresso.

The agreement being that if Adrien and Nathalie were going to conspire to break the rules, Adrien would drink straight espresso only and develop a palette for it.

It was here, when she was making this coffee, that she felt a hand brush her back, and it was here, without thinking, that Nathalie would risk her job.

The woman whirled around, swinging her fist out and landing squarely in the middle of someone’s sternum. Her mind caught up with where she was, and her eyes widened as she looked at the hunched over model, five or six years older than Adrien. Early twenties, certainly.

Nathalie was horrified, her eyes locked onto Adrien, who appeared by his counterpart’s side, helping him up.

Gabriel appeared next to her, and she had no will to speak. He exhaled, irritated and approached the model.

“It is best,” He advised neutrally, ignoring the chaos around the four of them, “To keep your hands off my assistant. Do not make that mistake again, young man. Adrien, find ice.”

The man turned away, ignoring his son, and met Nathalie’s gaze. He was forcing himself to remain blank-faced, but Nathalie saw his complete frustration. Frankly, ‘frustration’ was shocking. The woman had expected fury.

She followed him out of the room, he led her into a random supply closet, and locked the door behind him.

His hands scraped across his scalp, running through his hair and upsetting his eyeglasses. “I swear to god, Nathalie, I told you to go home, you know.”

“Sir—” Her pleading was cut off by a quick glare. Her mouth snapped shut, and she glanced away. She felt her eyes grow glassy.

Gabriel took her hands in his, felt their shaking, and pressed his lips together, “I should’ve known. You lied when you told me you were past what happened to you.”

Nathalie pulled away, mortified, “I _told_ you?”

He froze, his expression mixed with ‘I completely fucked up’ and ‘How the fuck do I get out of this mess’. “You did the same thing to me,” Gabriel reminded her gently, “I have a bruise on my chest for a week or so.”

She tried to laugh it off, and she tried to believe him, despite having no recollection of these events. “Right. I’m still very sorry for that.” A tear fell unto her eyelashes, and she wiped it away, grimacing at the kohl residue on her finger. “I’m surprised,” She told him eventually, “That I still react that way. I don’t consider myself to be very violent, sir.”

“Good.” He told her quietly, “Please, Nathalie, just go home and try to unwind. I really do think you’ve been unwell.”

“Frankly,” She replied, “I don’t know when I’ll be ‘well’.”

The man rolled his eyes at her, reminding her of a teenager, and she smiled slightly. “Weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?”

“Ah, it was cancelled,” His lie was not convincing. In fact, he had a rare moment of humor, “I figured I would check in on Adrien.” His eyes widened slightly, and he smirked at her, “Were you about to give him coffee, Nathalie?”

“No, sir,” She answered, “you explicitly told me not to give him any coffee.”

“That would make him bloated,” Gabriel teased, “It would make photo-editing painful.”

Nathalie frowned, “I see. Thankfully, I’m not a photo-editor.”

He nodded, “You don’t give him coffee too often?”

“I suspect he’s not getting enough sleep, as of late.” She admitted, “Adrien is more tired, sir. It’s a possibility that he is overworked, but I imagine that issue should resolve as summer progresses.”

“Good,” Gabriel unlocked the supply closet door, holding it open for her to exit in front of him. “Cut his extra-curricular activities wherever necessary if he’s still exhausted enough for espresso.”

“It’s good espresso, sir.”

“That’s not the point and you are perfectly aware of that fact.”


	11. She's a witch

Gabriel felt the exact moment when her memories returned. Or, he felt Nathalie’s entire emotional signature rip apart and reform.

It was late at night, and he was awake regardless, unable to sleep unless she was asleep. Things had been tense in the Rolling-Sancoeur household, and he had been unable to rest over them.

“Nooroo, transform me.”

He appeared at the far end of the apartment, his back against the wall of Nathalie and Penny’s bedroom.

Penny was in the living room, her emotions a swirl of complete panic. Murmurs of attempts to wake up the unconscious Nathalie Sancoeur filled his ears, and then, he heard her heading towards Nathalie’s house phone, which was in the bedroom (for emergencies, of course).

The woman froze at Hawkmoth.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here.” He murmured, “Though, I appreciate you not screaming.”

“I have half a mind to kick your ass.”

“I don’t recommend that.” Hawkmoth told her.

Penny balled her fists, “It’s true then.”

He considered his options for a moment, and then remembered that Nathalie loved her, and therefore, she would never harm the woman. “That Nathalie was Le Paon? Yes.”

The woman’s anger flared up, but it wasn’t directed at her girlfriend, “How could you erase her memories?”

“It was a matter of defeating Le Paon.” Hawkmoth told her plainly, “It was not easy on me by any means.”

Penny groaned. “Perfect. You two argue the same, by the way.”

The villain frowned, “Ms. Rolling, you might not believe me, but I did what I had to do to make sure Nathalie would lead a normal life. Erasing her memory was my only option, and I’m not going to apologize for these almost twenty years of her life.”

They both winced as the woman in the living room let a distressed moan.

“What do I do, then?”

“It’s a nightmare, it’ll pass.” He answered, “I’m not sure how she’ll react to all of these memories flooding back in. You have to understand, it was night and day after that day. I did what I could to—”

Hawkmoth stopped himself, he glared at her.

“I regret not approaching you earlier. We could’ve prevented this had you not persisted.”

Penny scoffed, “I don’t care about your relationship with my partner. We will not work together.”

He rolled his eyes, “That’s stubborn of you.”

“Stay away from Nathalie.” She warned him, “You are not good for her. I would say that she is not good for, but you returned to villain work without her help.”

The man glowered, “Don’t pretend to know me, Ms. Rolling. Neither of us know what’s going to happen when she wakes up. Nathalie loves you deeper than she ever loved me, so I’ll do what I can to support you two together, but you have to—”

“Penny?” Nathalie’s voice, weak and quiet, carried through the bedroom. She was awake, sure of herself, but confused.

He felt Penny’s emotions flicker, trying to divide her focus.

“Trust me.” He hissed, “Stay by her side. I think her memories recovering has caused a few fires around the city. There’s going to be a lot of panic. You need to be _calm._ ”

“I am calm, you jackass.”

The villain rolled his eyes, “We’ll be in touch soon. Go to her.”

 

XXX

 

Nathalie and Penny stood on the balcony of their apartment. They could see some of the fire, an electric blue, in the distance.

“I think Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived to help.” Penny murmured, “I don’t—why did this happen?”

“The magical shockwave.” She replied. Nathalie felt emotionally numb, as though everything but the basic functions of being a human being had shut down. Her mind did not catch up to the memories that flashed through her. “I’m trying to focus on putting them out, but I don’t think it works that way.”

Her girlfriend shuddered, “It’s just—”

“A lot.” The woman completed the sentence. “I can’t believe it was me, all those years ago.” Her voice gave pause, “Penny.”

“What?”

“You don’t—You don’t have to stay.” She told the woman, turning to her, “I completely understand if this is beyond what you signed up for, and I won’t hold it against you or be angry.”

_I won’t be a supervillain. I will allow my heart to break._

Penny looked at her, sad, “I love you, you know.”

“It would be naïve of me to think that nothing has changed.”

Her girlfriend ran a hand through her purple hair, and grimaced. There were black roots growing in that she would need to touch up. “I know, Nat. We should let everything sink in before doing anything rash.”

 

XXX

 

“In a distressing news alert, local experts have confirmed that the fires were indeed the same that Le Paon caused in the mid-to-late nineties.” Nadja Chamack stated, from her anchor’s desk, “No witnesses have reported spotting Le Paon, but the Ladyblog reported that Ladybug and Chat Noir patrolled the entire night, searching for her.”

Nathalie and Penny sat on the couch (both of them called out sick for the day). Penny had been considerably quiet, and Nathalie skirted around the topic at hand.

When the commercials came on, Nathalie muted the channel. “It might be worth visiting Fu again.”

“What?”

“I stole the miraculous from him,” She explained, “Things were difficult at the time but I gather he knows who I am.”

Penny nodded, “You think he’ll reveal you?”

She shook her head, “Miraculous history is pretty clear. The Guardian is magically bound to his kwami until he dies, magically required not to reveal the identities of the users. That hasn’t stopped a few from meddling, nevertheless, I owe him some sort of apology.”

“For?”

“Stealing the miraculous?” She looked back at her girlfriend, “To start, of course.”

 

XXX

 

Hawkmoth stood next to her, and her satisfaction radiated off of her. He glanced over to the horizon, blue fire sparkling over the edges of the buildings around them.

“I’ve been thinking,” He turned to her, “about what you said about the two of us dating.”

Her face, though young, could always manage to look glacial on command. It made no matter, she was frothing with glee. “That it’s a bad idea should we get caught?”

_Nathalie, how I envy your demand for self-preservation._

“We won’t get caught.” Hawkmoth replied, taking a step closer. “You and I can work around any problem.”

Her blue eyes slid over to his, and she smirked, “So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is, I want to date you and you’re playing coy.” He lied.

“You rejected me, Gabriel.” She gently reminded him, “Multiple times.”

He smirked, his fingers brush her jaw, and he noted the complete flush over her skin. “You were a child, then. You’re hardly a child now.”

Then, he bent down to kiss her, and she kissed him back, something she had wanted to do to him for years. Her focus was entirely on him, though he could still sense the malice beneath her surface, the desire to see Paris fall to its knees.

Thankfully, the villainess could not read her partner’s mind.

When her fans clattered to the gravel roof beneath them, Gabriel lead the young woman backwards, and her back was against the water cooler. He kissed her neck, and when she was completely emotionally his, he summoned a butterfly behind his back, and pressed the insect to her temple, knocking her unconscious.

Then, he tied her to a utility pipe further towards the center of the building, and waited.

“I didn’t sign up for this.” He told his partner when she woke up, five minutes later. “I’m sorry for the confusion.”

Behind them, Paris burned. Every emotion of every citizen echoed through him. He held his partner’s fan, and she was tied to a water heater on top of an apartment building.

“You can’t do this!” She hissed. “Gabriel, we had a plan! We were going to be—”

“We had no plan,” He cut her off, tossing the fan out of her reach, “We were going to use our powers to build our fashion house, and take down the people who wronged us. I should’ve known that it was a slippery slope. I didn’t care about world domination.”

“Please, Gabriel, what are you going to do? Leave?” She murmured, “I won’t stop fighting you.”

He called a butterfly to his hand, infusing it with, for once, a good energy. “I’m going to erase your memory. You won’t remember anything of being Paon.”

“That will erase all of me!” She pleaded. “I’ll never forgive you!”

Sending the butterfly out, he turned back to her. “You won’t remember being angry with me. You’ll stay by my side, and I’ll see to it that you lead a fulfilling life as a civilian. I’ll protect you for as long as I can.”

The man kneeled down next to her, ignored her snarl, and kissed her on the cheek.

“When I told you that your love was unrequited.” He breathed into her ear, “I lied. I’m sorry for that, too.”

He took the brooch off of her breast, and her transformation washed over her, and the kwami spiraled into the jewelry.

He sent a brief message to the champion, who accepted the butterfly, and appeared next to him, “Erase all of her memories of being Paon, and of myself being Hawkmoth, then you can repair the city as you wish.”

Hawkmoth turned a corner, and when the champion erased her memory, he let his transformation go. When the champion left the roof, he turned back, shoving the Peacock miraculous into his pocket. So long as she never touched that brooch, she would never, in theory, remember her time as a supervillain.

Even if she did, she would never remember that he was Hawkmoth.


	12. A witch is a witch

Jagged wrapped an arm around Nathalie’s shoulder, causing her to stiffen, “So, how are you and Penny? Still going strong?”

She offered the rock star a warm smile, “Of course,” the woman lied, “Why wouldn’t we be?”

Jonathan had invited Gabriel and Nathalie to the studio on a Sunday afternoon, and they both agreed, with plans to listen to the man’s work in progress of an album.

The album, in question, was his sixth release. There was little to no pressure on the rock star, though he liked to pretend that there was. Comments about ‘legacy’ and ‘being remembered in the next millennia, man’, were made. His desire for longevity had left Nathalie with a bitter feeling across her tongue. The news cycle had not quit on Le Paon theories, Ladybug and Chat Noir had not stopped. If Nathalie could have her way, that villain-that side of her would disappear forever, never to be mentioned again. 

Legacies are not worth the trouble they bring. 

Her eyes flitted over to Penny who nursed a cup of coffee, looking through her partner with heavy eyes.

“It’s just…you guys are  _ so  _ inspiring.” He crooned to the woman, “I could write a song about the two of you, you know.”

That seemed to distract the musician without any prompting “Oh my god. You have to hear the song I wrote about Le Paon!”  

Nathalie did not dare glance to Penny, who had most likely heard every single draft of the ballad. Penny, who might’ve made notes, suggestions to her the rockstar. Had she not stopped him? 

_ It is not worth arguing with her, if she had brought it up with him, it would’ve been suspect. _

“Is that in good taste, Jonathan?” Gabriel asked his friend softly. “She might’ve returned.”

Jagged waved off his concerns reaching for his acoustic guitar, his grin practically splitting the sides of his face. He was about to start plucking strings when Nathalie’s boss held up a hand.

“Jonathan, I adore you,” He told the man firmly, “but I personally have been targeted by Le Paon, and I can tell you—this is too soon. If you intend to play that song, I will not be able to publicly support your brand.”

 

XXX

 

An intern entered the recording studio where the foursome sat, drinking coffee and going over music video designs. Gabriel had, on principle, overseen the design of one music video per album release, and Jagged gave him an excellent song, and now, they were brainstorming ideas and themes.

“Ms. Rolling.” The intern murmured, “The concert tickets for tonight.”

“ _ Tickets _ ?” The woman said firmly , “I only needed one. How many did the band send?”

“Two.” The intern, probably no more than sixteen, frowned. “I could—um, give the ticket away or—”

“Nonsense.”-Jagged interjected-“You can go with Nat, can’t you?”

When she was a child, she was told, ‘the traits in others you dislike will often be the traits you possess’. Now, she sat in the company Stone, seething, wondering if she was just as imposing as him, or if she was once as obnoxious. 

Nathalie had been sitting across from Penny, pretending to answer e-mails as the intern spoke to her. Her hair brushed across her glasses, concealing the complete blank.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t sure if she’d be able to go.” Penny lied.

Nathalie knew it was a lie, just because they both had access to each other’s schedules, and checked them every so often for availability purposes. There was rarely an exchange of ‘Can you go to this?’ anymore.

Had she simply forgotten to mention it, or was there something more?

 

XXX

 

"I didn't realize there was a concert."

They did not get to speak until later that evening. Gabriel had a meeting with a film actress that they both had to attend, then Nathalie had to keep track of Adrien once he got out of school for the day. Now, they were both in the apartment. Now, she was sitting on her legs, folding t-shirts. Most of them were Penny’s, of course, but a few of them were Nat’s. Nathalie liked the feel of cotton, and Penny had made a habit of buying her aesthetically pleasing tees to lounge about it.

It was a good enough distraction, as Penny sat at the vanity (Nathalie  _ liked  _ sitting down to do her make-up in front of a large mirror in her bedroom, let her live), applying various moisturizers.

All of this seemed domestic enough, but previously, they sat in a strange silence.

"I didn't think you'd want to go."

She looked up at Penny, who's mouth formed a soft line in the mirror. "Of course I'd want to go."

"You don't like crowds," she turned to her partner, "you don't have to go if you do want to go."

"I want to go."

"I'm just-"

Her mouth snapped shut.

Nathalie's eyes fell back to the t-shirts she folded. "You don't want me to go." She stated it as a fact, as though she were reading off a textbook.

Why would Penny want her to go? Why bother doing things close companions did if things were so tense? Nathalie feared Penny was only going through the motions. A moment after things settled down, she would be gone. It wouldn't be the best time, but no time would be. She wondered if she could just give Penny an out now. A "Hey, I don't want to break up, but we can if you're not happy" sort of turn of phrase that left them both with a mutual feeling.

Penny's voice was hard. "I'm not going to break up with you if you're a less-than-perfect girlfriend."

Setting the folded t-shirts in the dresser, she replied, "I don't know what you mean."

She winced slightly as Penny wrapped her arms around Nathalie's waist, her nose pressing into the middle of her back for a moment. She had heard her stand from the small bench, but had not thought that Penny would go to her so simply.

"I mean," her voice was low, "that I won't break up with you over molehills. I won't cry if there's a dish in the sink or pack my things when dirty laundry piled up. I don't need perfect. I need you. I love you.”

"Penny..."

“So honestly, if you don’t want to go, I won’t be upset about it.”

“I  _ want  _ to—”

"And furthermore!" The woman pulled away, and Nathalie caught the sparkly flecks of gold in her eye, "if I break up with you because of your super villain past, I promise that I'll be honest about it."

For a second, Nathalie was speechless.

_ Why do I always underestimate the people I love? _

You’d think, after nearly forty years of living, she would’ve broken that habit by now. Getting her memories erased by one wasn’t enough. Having a different partner remain by her side despite everything thus far had not changed her viewpoint. That would have to be amended soon, as her heart couldn’t take the shock of Penny Rolling.

"Thank you." She croaked, her voice suddenly hoarser than expected. "So it's fine if I go to the concert?" Coughing, she offered her girlfriend an apologetic smile.

"As long as you're honest if you leave me for a certain purple-suited, we'll be fine."

Nathalie snorted, "I haven't seen him since the last time."

Penny's grin dropped, her eyes looked almost black. "What?"

"He hasn't been around? I haven't seen him." Cold silence passed between. "Have you seen him?"

She took in a steady breath, "We spoke when you passed out. I...I assumed he would approach you."

Nathalie pressed her lips together, "I see."

"I did tell him to stay away from you."

The woman nodded, her mind constructing complete arguments as to why that was the best plan of action. "Good." Her lips pressed against Penny's forehead, not out of love, but out of necessity. Her shampoo was a calming sense of lavender, and it smelt of home and a less complicated life. "We probably don't bring out the best in each other."

 

XXX

 

This is normal. This is what  _ normal  _ couples do.

Nathalie was struck by that feeling, as she pressed her elbow into the table of her vanity, flicking the liner across her lash line. Penny, whose ‘work’ makeup translated exceptionally well for ‘concert’ makeup, was in the closet, picking out her outfit. It was very likely that she would also pick out ‘suggestions’ and ‘choices’ for Nathalie, as it was Ms. Rolling’s reputation on the line, if her date was not dressed for the occasion.

The venue, was thankfully, within walking distance for them, and the night was warm. One of the last warm nights of the year, most likely, but the two didn’t think about it, as Penny took her arm and they strolled together.

“Has it occurred to you that I consider this normal?” Penny asked her girlfriend lightly, “I know it’s all strange to you, the memories and all, but I don’t think it’s had an impact on our relationship. I don’t think you’ve changed.”

“I think it’s just—coping with knowledge that I did all of those things is difficult. I keep expecting you to leave over it all.”

Penny pressed her lips into a tight line. “I did the math. You were sixteen when you started.”

She felt her muscles freeze, every point in her system telling her to run, to change the subject. “I was. My age doesn’t excuse my behavior.”

 

XXX

 


	13. Witchsporting

“So…” Penny’s eyes gleaned. They stood in the mezzanine of the concert hall, alone together as they the opener finished out their set. “Was dancing with Hawkmoth different from dancing with me?”

Nathalie took a sip of her beer, “Why do you ask?”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir are excellent dancers together,” She explained, “Because they’re partners, right?”

Shrugged, she replied, “We didn’t do any ballroom dancing. Club dancing isn’t much different.”

“No?”

“No. In truth, I prefer dancing with you.” Nathalie admitted, “He was far too tall, I suspect, _and_ I’m fairly certain that he constantly ordered cocktails for us.”

Penny’s shoulder leaned against Nathalie’s bicep, and she chuckled, “Beer is growing on you?”

Her eyes narrowed, “When did I say I prefer beer to cocktails? I prefer straight tequila and you know it.”

“I prefer a not-sloppy Nathalie.”

“I can’t live up to your standards,” She replied dryly, “My apologies.”

The golden brown woman had rolled her eyes at that, “Okay, admit it: you’ve become a lot more melodramatic since regaining your memories. I can only imagine how turbulent your youth was.”

Nathalie sipped her wine, “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps? Come on, you’re a broody bread loaf.”

 

XXX

 

“Remember the model I was telling you about?”

“No.”

“Nathalie.”

“Fine, I remember?” She glanced across the table. The secluded library provided perfect cover. They were studious individuals who came often enough for a consistent alibi. Nathalie noticed the pleased expression on Gabriel’s face and grimaced. “What about her?”

Gabriel glanced at a book on seventeenth century women’s fashion, and then sketched something down in his book. “I asked her out.”

“A model? Really, above _and_ beyond, Gabriel.”

He pouted, “Nathalie, I did ask you to model for me, there’s no need to be snooty about models. She’s actually a class above yours. Studying chemical engineering.”

“That’s nice.”

“You could try being a bit more enthusiastic.” He told her firmly, “I genuinely like her.”

Nathalie flipped a page in her book, scribbled something down (it was pointless, her memory was flawless, it was a petty way to stall) and glanced up at him. “I know. It’s dangerous, however, to be attached to others. What if she found out your secret?”

Gabriel waved off her concern, “She won’t find out anything, Nathalie, you’re paranoid.”

“What would you do if she found out?”

“I’ve barely been out with her, Nathalie. She hasn’t seen the inside of my apartment yet. There’s simply no chance of it happening.” He leaned forward, “And even so, your identity wouldn’t be compromised. For all she knows, you’re a close friend of mine.”

“She _knows_ about me?”

He pressed his lips together, “She will know. You’re my most trusted friend, why wouldn’t she be aware of your existence?”

“Maybe I don’t want to meet her.”

He sighed.

“ _Okay,_ god, fine.” Nathalie grimaced, “I’m sure she’s great, if _you_ like her, considering you don’t like anyone.”

“I’m fond of you, if you’ll recall last week’s incident.”

 

XXX

 

When Nathalie met Adele, it was by complete accident. It wasn’t her fault. Specifically, it was Gabriel’s.

They were in the line of fire: _again,_ when he wrapped his arms around her, and they were gone. Normally, they’d be in his apartment, where he lived alone.

She opened her eyes, not letting go her transformation, namely because someone was _screaming,_ oh my god.

The girl’s eyes locked onto the blonde for just a moment. That was all. In the next moment, they were in Gabriel’s apartment.

“You did _not_ just do that.” She stated, dropping her transformation. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

He paused, his hand wrapped around his cane. “She’s calming down. I don’t know if she’ll—”

His phone began to ring. It was the most grating noise on Nathalie’s ears. The man stopped, dropped his transformation, and moved towards the phone on the end table, next to the sofa.

“You can’t answer!” Nathalie ground out, exasperated beyond anything else she had ever experienced before. How could her partner be so nonchalant?

Gabriel glared at her, “I’m establishing an alibi. If Adele goes to the police, they’ll figure me out.” He picked up the receiver. “Gabriel Agreste. Hello?”

There was a pause. The man was made a shocked face, hoping it would help with the tone, “Are you serious?”

_“No, I would just CALL YOU AND JOKE ABOUT TERRORISTS IN MY APARTMENT!”_

He held the phone away from him, looking torn. Adele was screaming again, and her voice carried over to Nathalie.

The man cut her off when she tried to continue, “Hey, I’m with my friend Nat studying, okay? I’ll pack my things and be there as soon as I can…yes, I’ll spend the night. I’ll stay there as long as I need to.”

_“Is it worth calling the police? What would you do?”_

“I would not.” Gabriel suggested politely, making a ‘I told you so’ face at his supervillain partner, “They’re going to be keeping an eye on you to be sure you won’t say anything. You need to be careful. You have to keep your emotions in check and your guard up. I’m on my way.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes as he hung up, “So what the hell happened? You thought ‘home’ and we ended up in her apartment.”

The man took a moment, grabbing his go bag from the back of a coat closet. He pulled out the things he didn’t need: fake passports and IDS, several thousand euros, and a toolkit), and turned back to her, “Actually, yes.”

The admission hit Nathalie harder than she wanted to admit, and then she tried to smother it, though it was too late. “I told you not to get involved.”

“I’m sorry for getting the transport wrong.” He told her, slinging the bag over his shoulder, “I do have to go, though. I’ll see you soon.”

And Nathalie was left alone in his apartment, wondering what had felt so wrong about letting him leave.

 

XXX

 

Penny and Nathalie had gone downstairs to the bar. Nathalie had ordered a “Sangrita with tequila, thank you” (A bloody mary with tequila, but Nathalie was pretentious) and Penny ordered a lager. The hallway and stairs back to the second floor were narrow.

Nathalie took the lead, her hand trailing behind for her girlfriend to hold as they walked.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hawkmoth. Hell, she almost ran into him. He took a step backwards so as not to touch her.

He looked _so_ different, you know. A lifetime ago, he wore pastels and white. Nathalie knew he wore a dark suit, but now it was obvious, just what a shade of purple it was.

“I’m sorry for interrupting.” He stated, “But enough has time has passed, and I’m impatient to speak with you.”

Nathalie froze. Penny pushed forward, “She’s not going anywhere with you, you bloated eggplant.”

She disagreed. There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him, a million questions, infinite things to discuss. It seemed silly to her, that she wanted to ask him how he was doing, if he was happy. Hell, if he missed her on occasion. No, Nathalie did not love him anymore, but those feelings left their scar.

“It’s fine.” She stated, “You can come with me, Penny. Anything he says to me, he can say in front of you, right?”

Penny hesitated. “Okay. I’m just worried that this isn’t the step forward you were hoping to make. I know we should talk about it but I don’t know if bringing up the past to this extreme is necessary.”

Nathalie looked back at her girlfriend, “I know.” She inhaled, prepared herself, and added, “But I have so many questions that need answers, and he’s my best bet.”

He nodded, and held out his hand, “Somewhere more quiet, then?”

Nathalie nodded, and she placed her hand in his. Her other hand held onto Penny’s. Then, they were gone.

 

XXX

 

Nooroo had found Gabriel, staggered against his desk. “What is that feeling?” He ground out, tears springing to his eyes. He was digging his nails into his desk, his face red with agony.

“It’s the absence of it, sir.”

It was so sudden that he had to have wondered if he would get a phone call the next day. ‘Nathalie Sancoeur, car accident’.

To be fair, it was also Penny, which was a terrible feeling as well, to have her disappear.

Still, he twisted the broach around his collar. “Nooroo, transform me.”

He waited a few minutes, transporting to his office, waited some more. He pulled out the Peacock pin.

Duusu appeared in his hands, and he immediately began to cry. “Nathalie…what happened?”

“I don’t know.” He whispered, “I can’t sense her. Can you?”

“No.” The kwami replied.

Gabriel dropped his transformation. “Okay. I’ll bring you back to Master Fu.”

Nooroo flew up into Gabriel’s hair, “I don’t think the bond is broken.”

“Death means—”

“We would know, wouldn’t we, Duusu?”

The tiny blue bird nodded. “I’m still bonded, Gabriel.”

The butterfly floated down to Gabriel’s wristwatch. “Then she’s not dead.” The kwami insisted, sounding hopeful.

 

XXX

 

“Nathalie?”

“Penny! Are you—”

“I’m fine. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

Then they found each other, in the absence of light.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know.”


	14. A Witch in the Hand

The light’s turned on, revealing themselves to be in a clear octagonal chamber, not of glass. 

Nathalie pressed her hand against it, testing it, and grimaced. She glanced over at Penny, coated in a blue powder.

The woman looked down at herself, and immediately began brushing it off of her forehead and throat. She glanced at her watch, realized it was gone, and turned back towards Penny, who looked shocked.

“The time.”

Yes, Nathalie had never appeared more emotional in her life, but distress signals were distress signals.

“How long until the powder where’s off?” One voice cut them off.

They turned, and saw before them an entire room filled with computers and servers. Magical essence out on tables. About six men wearing several protective magical seals (small rocks with runes painted on) strung around necklaces over dress shirts.

Nathalie might’ve mistaken them for a start-up tech company, had it not been for her and her girlfriend’s prison.

“Thirty seconds.” Another voice clipped back, “The barrier is still active, we’ll have to drop it until—”

“Got it. Don’t take your eyes off of them.” A third, a man with a scruffy beard and hair pulled back replied. The leader type. He turned to the two women for a moment, nodded, and turned to a fourth man, “Get the auction up now. I want prices high when—”

It was at this moment that he was cut off. Hawkmoth dived into Nathalie, appearing out of thin air and hitting her in the shoulder.

She gritted her teeth, grasped Penny’s hand, and dug her nails into his wrist. “Go!”

He seemed to attempt to teleport out of the chamber, but his entire body seemed to be electrocuted, he staggered down.

“Auction’s live, all three are introduced to the market, sir.”

“Good.” The bearded gentleman turned back towards the prisoners.

Nathalie grimaced, “What are you—what the hell is going on here?”

He smiled, “Oh. Just making a sale, Ms. Sancoeur, it’s nothing serious.”

Hawkmoth groaned, “I do not have the patience for you playing coy, sir. Who are you selling us to, and why?” He stumbled up, placing a hand on his cane. The man tapped the end of it to the material that contained them, and grimaced.

The man tilted his head to the side, “You two were more theatrical, this is disappointing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nathalie exclaimed, lying theatrically, “What are my girlfriend and I doing here with  _ him? _ What do you want?”

Sighing, the bearded follow tutted, “Nathalie, dearest, you should be  _ thanking  _ me. It was my team and I that cured your amnesia. You don’t have to play that game with me.”

She heard Penny taking a shaking breath, anger leaking out. She was silent.

“You thought it was all coincidence? We’ve known about you for  _ years,  _ sweetheart.” He shook his head, “We waited and waited, thinking ‘hey, she’ll never care about anyone enough to use them as leverage against her’. I mean, we couldn’t just kidnap you and Adrien Agreste, could we?”

His smile was knowing, and he went on, “There are plenty of people who would pay a high price for you and Hawkmoth in their custody, Nathalie Sancoeur. Hawkmoth was always easy—he would break magical laws to protect you.”

“But Nathalie wouldn’t have done the same.” Penny stated, her voice blank, not quite aware that she said it herself. “You needed someone she would sacrifice everything for.”

He smiled, “Ms. Rolling, you are as smart as you are beautiful.”

Hawkmoth bristled, “So, what, Penny is Nathalie’s leverage, and Nathalie is mine?”

“It’s quite convenient, I admit.”

“And you’re selling in, what? Bitcoin?”

“You could not afford the price, Hawkmoth.”

He looked deliberately at him, then, he exhaled, and in a flash of pink light, Gabriel Agreste stood in Hawkmoth’s price.

“I can afford the fucking price.”

Nathalie breathed in, and leaned against the wall, every memory flooding back into place, every explanation, every embrace, every feeling of longing for him. Penny’s hands balled into fists, she was shaking, even.

It was Gabriel. It had always been him, and she had been foolish not to suspect the convenience of him. The job that had lined up perfectly, his uncanny friendship towards her when the rest of the world was kept at bay. The time she had spent searching had been in vain, he was there, and he knew everything she had gone through and said nothing.

And now, he was wincing, “Stop.” He told her, “I can’t negotiate our release with your feelings.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t feel.”

“I’m trying to buy us out of this.” Gabriel snapped back, “Be thankful for  _ once  _ that I’m saving you,  _ again _ , hopefully for the last time if you keep your mouth shut.”

Nathalie tilted her head back, taken by surprise but ultimately accustomed to his shouting. Still, it was painful to realize that it was true. Had she troubled to thank her former partner, perhaps they’d be different people, living a different life.

She felt Penny squeeze her hand, and sighed.  _ If things had turned out different, Penny would not be here with me.  _ If that was comforting even in the slightest, Nathalie would not have known the feeling.

He breathed out, trying to calm down, and he turned back to their keeper. “Name. Your. Price.”  

The leader frowned, “You’re a damn fool if you think we’re selling you off for  _ money,  _ Agreste.”

“Name the price, then.” He snapped back.

“Human souls.” He replied, “I don’t think you’ll give up your wife’s soul, will you?”

Nathalie groaned, “Oh my god.”

“Did you even listen to—”

“Your attempts to control what I say or do bore me to tears, Gabriel.” She spat back, “And you can’t buy our way out of this.”

“Then what do you propose?” He asked.

She raised an eyebrow. It was like he didn’t know her.

Gabriel crinkled his nose, “That’s not a solution I find acceptable.”

“Did you expect an acceptable solution from me?”  

He grimaced and turned around, placing his hands behind his back, which was an odd move for him. Although he did it often, it was so deliberately aimed at her. He opened one his palms, grasping  _ her  _ brooch in his thumb and forefinger. For a second, she didn’t realize his intent, then, he curled his fingers, seeming to attempt to get her attention.

_ Not a solution you find acceptable, but you won’t stop me, will you? _

She glanced over at Penny, who deadpanned stared back at her.  _ You’re going to, aren’t you?  _

Not particularly pleased, Nathalie stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with her boss, and stared down the leader, “This is not the best course of action for you, sir. And I can offer you something better than human souls.” 

“You can’t.” 

“I am the most well-connected woman in all of Paris, and I recall being a formidable supervillain.” Nathalie attempted to bargain, “There’s nothing I can’t do, including getting you whatever it is you desire.” 

She placed a hand on Gabriel’s forearm, and moved closer to him, her hand now on her back. A few moves further, and they’d be safe. 

“ _ We’ve  _ spent the last two and a half decades creating solutions.” She crooned, “Why even sell us away? We know how to collect human souls for you, we know how the magic works.” 

Gabriel stiffened, his hands moving up his back as his shoulders tensed up, “I  _ refuse _ to work with you, Nathalie.” 

She moved her hand down, felt the brooch, and looked back at the leader as she palmed it, “That’s fine,” She glanced over to Penny, “How do you feel about learning quantic magic, babe?” 

The leader looked across the container over to the woman, and Nathalie pinned the brooch to her chest. 

“Duusu, transform me.” 

 

XXX

 

“When were you going to tell me?” 

Gabriel kept staring down at the newspaper he was reading. He glanced up at his fiance, if just to confirm that she looked as enraged as she felt. “What do you mean?” 

It was useless. 

“You and Le Paon appeared in my apartment.” Her tone was levelled, “It was you all along.” 

He tried not to exhale, not to make some sort of outward sign. “That’s a serious accusation, Adele.” 

“And all of your money is some kind of-what, part-time job that doesn’t exist?” Adele walked over to the espresso machine on the kitchen counter. Expensive, an antique, a gift from Nathalie. “What young businessman  _ wastes  _ money like this?” 

“It was a gift.” He told her. 

“Oh really?” 

“I have friends, just like you.” He reminded her, “We exchange gifts.” 

“I’ve never seen Nathalie give you a gift.” 

“I have friends other than Nathalie.” 

Adele scowled, “Name  _ one _ .” 

Gabriel pressed his lips together. “Adele, I’m not Hawkmoth.” 

“I don’t believe you.” She replied, “It makes so much sense. You  _ and  _ Nathalie, together all the time, robbing banks and burning down buildings! You appeared in my apartment after we started dating, and now Nathalie loathes me.” 

He frowned, “Nathalie never liked you, for the record, now she’s a bit more honest about it. I’m working on bringing her around.” 

“She hates me because  _ apparently  _ I’m going to be married to her supervillain partner.” Adele ground out. “And we’re engaged! How could you rope me into this, Gabriel? What if you were arrested? What about the children we talked about? Did our future not factor in at all?” 

For the first time, on that early Sunday morning, he felt her heart breaking. “Adele. I’m sorry. You...you were never meant to find out.” 

Her voice shook as she slammed her fist down onto the kitchen counter, “Sorry doesn’t make it better. I can’t-” 

She choked back a sob, and he stood. His first instinct was to go to her, but she was so clearly overwhelmed by it all. It was best to keep distance. 

“Stay with you.” She sputtered, her face red as she forced out breath after breath.

Gabriel breathed out, “I’ll stop, if that’s what it takes. Nathalie and I, I’ll get her to stop too, okay? Calm down. Everything’s going to be good from here on out.” 

That seemed to satisfy her for the time being.  


	15. Witch Boxer

Everything was on fire, but Nathalie kept things under her control. Gabriel had re-transformed, he had directed her. First, the server that powered their prison, then, the exits. It had annoyed her to the ends of the earth, as he reminded her to keep everything “under control, as angry as you are, Ladybug and Chat Noir  _ cannot  _ make an appearance and spot Ms. Rolling.” 

It felt worse, being in the costume again, knowing he could sense just how satisfying it was. The suit was the same, it gave her the same sense of control and power. 

Her fans cut through the glass, once she had burned down the power generator, powering the prison. 

_ Keep the smoke away from the smoke dictators.  _ A millions years ago, she wouldn't have had to remind herself how to start and control her fires. Now, it felt like she was learning again.

The affair ended with the novice magicians in a corner, Nathalie and Gabriel staring them down. Penny had remained in what was once the prison, now an octagon of ashes. 

The magicians were fenced in by Nathalie’s throwing darts, broken apart from her fans. She had threatened to make them explode if they moved. The former partners were debating over what to do with them.

“We  _ can't  _ erase their memories.” She insisted. 

Hawkmoth’s mouth formed a hard line, “That’s the best solution. They know our identities.”

“And the last memory spell went so well, hmm?” 

He glared at her, perhaps conveying a “we agreed we wouldn't openly argue in front of others” or maybe a “don't bring that up, you know I put my best effort towards that.” 

Penny appeared next to her, and Paon leapt back, surprised to see her. “Erase their memories of our identities, nothing more, nothing less.” Her voice did not leave any room for protest. She was dripping with sweat, her hair clung to her forehead in sticky, curly lines. “We are done here.” 

Paon nodded, “I'll take us home, then.”

Hawkmoth cleared his throat, “we’ll speak later, Paon. I know you haven’t had the time for all of this to sink in, and I  _ will  _ be taking that miraculous.”

“Sure.”

Le Paon and Penny headed up a set of utility stairs to the roof. 

“It wouldn't be wise to detransform.” Penny told her partner, “Someone will find the ashes of that fire. We can't have evidence of us being near here.”

“Is that okay with you?” Nathalie asked quietly, poking her head out of the door and scanning the skyline for two superheroes. Spotting nothing, they headed out onto the roof. 

Penny finally looked over at her partner, taking in the soft blue of her skin, the fascinator and veil, the dark lipstick, the scalloped train and thigh high boots. It must’ve been odd, to see it up close. Sure, there were plenty of  _ pictures,  _ video, but they never captured the way Nathalie’s skin had a shimmer to it, or the shine of the leather.  

“It's-”

Nathalie was certain it wasn't fine. Penny Rolling was looking into the face of a monster. 

She took in a measured breath. “I've never seen you more in your element before, Nathalie. I thought you were most in your element when you were getting your way with a client. I was wrong.”

“I'm sorry.”

That caused the woman to give her girlfriend a soft smile. “Don't be sorry. It's just...I know you were a kid, okay? I just wonder what would've happened if you went the hero route. It was-you were  _ amazing _ , Nathalie.”

Penny was trying her best not to smile as wide as she could. “I'm really proud of you. You're my hero, babe.”

For a second, she wanted to immediately reply that she wasn't a superhero. And then she remembered the akuma during fashion week. That lead to realizing what Gabriel Agreste was capable of. She tried to keep her focus on Penny, but Hawkmoth was right: she hadn’t given herself time to react to the reveal.

“Thanks, honey.” She replied weakly, “I love you. I can give you a ride across Paris, if you’d like.”

“Oh god, yes.” The still-sweaty woman answered. 

 

XXX

 

“It's no use.” Ladybug dug her toe into the gravelly rooftop of a warehouse. “We will  _ never  _ find her.”

Chat Noir, stood, looking over the skyline. He had begun to suspect that his partner had a bone to pick with Le Paon.

“Marinette,” He glanced back over her shoulder her her, currently pacing, “why is it bothering you? The fires happened two months ago. She's not resurfacing, she would've done it by now if she was.”

She balled her fists. “Because my parents built the patisserie from the coffee shop she first burnt to the ground. That spot was empty for years because no one would rent it. So the owner just put it up for sale and my parents  _ bought  _ it. She started fires a few months ago and my parent’s business is struggling for the first time in a  _ decade _ , Adrien.”

He held up his clawed hands, trying to pacify her, “Okay, I get it.” He didn't get it, rich kid that he was. Why didn't Marinette’s parents just take out a loan? “We'll keep searching.”

_ Even though Hawkmoth is our biggest threat _ ,  _ because if Le Paon wanted to defeat us, she would've attempted to do so by how.  _

Ladybug’s eyes flicked over to the rest of Paris. “We might not have to, Chat.” Her hand pressed into his shoulder, making him turn to look, “What’s that?”

The cat boy (or, teenager) looked out into the buildings. He saw a dark blue silhouette, and he squinted. Le Paon carrying someone across the city. 

_ A sister? A daughter? A wife? _

His father gave him advice once. In a rare moment, Gabriel told his son that life was not a simple black and white. Life was gray, humans contradict themselves, and no person falls under one singular label. Fighting akumas had only solidified that notion over time.

Now, he wondered what could've possibly brought a ruthless supervillain out of retirement. 

He was about to tell his partner to wait when he realized that she was ahead of him, bounding towards the villain. Her yo-yo flew across streets and over buildings.

“Well, time to test out my feather allergy.” He muttered, following his girlfriend across the night scape. 

 

XXX

 

She landed on another rooftop, slid, and jumped to the next one. Acutely aware of Penny’s heart pounding into her chest, she landed on a tall apartment building, and set her on her feet. 

Penny wobbled, and Nathalie put a hand on her, “I haven't done that in years. Are you okay?”

The (now dry) woman grinned, “Yeah, I definitely see the appeal.”

Paon laughed, and glanced over the horizon. 

It wasn't that she was lucky, Ladybug and Chat Noir were amateurs. They should've attacked by surprise. No, they were bounding towards her and Penny. 

If Chat Noir and Ladybug spotted Penny, it would be all over for the musician’s assitant. 

Nathalie grabbed Penny’s wrist and started running. 

 


	16. A Title Pertaining to A Witch's Familar or Something Clever

She hopped down off the side of the building, Penny behind her as she landed on the roof, and partially caught her partner.

“Chat and Ladybug.” She breathed, setting her down and bounding forward, her civilian partner in two.

Le Paon immediately ran to the service stairs on top of the office building, pulled out her fan, twisted it around her wrist, and broke the lock. She thrust the door open, and pushed her girlfriend through.

She looked over her shoulder as she threw several pieces of her fan down, watching them burst into flame, effectively blocking the entrance.

Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared soon, and she slammed the service door behind her, and twisted the lock.

Penny was further down the stairwell. Le Paon leapt over the railings, catching her quickly.

“If I didn’t know any better—”

They heard a shouted ‘Cataclysm’ and Penny groaned.

“—I’d say you were enjoying this.”

She shushed her partner, and went onto the second floor, out of ten, and closed it behind them. “I am most certainly not.” Le Paon lied, “I liked this when I was a kid, though.”

Penny frowned, and she found a utility closet, unlocked it with the fan, and they both hid inside. The office building’s hallways were well lit, and through the crack in the floor, she could make out a vent above them.

She exhaled. Maybe if she was alone, that would be her exit, but she had the distinct feeling that Rolling’s patience was fading fast.

“We need to get out of here.”

“I know.” She told her, “I’m concentrating.”

“On what, for god’s—” Penny cut herself off, “Hawkmoth.”

“Teleporting comes in handy, there’s no trace on it, after all.”

They were both calm for a few minutes, and then, Ladybug’s voice was heard entering the floor.

“They didn’t leave, we would’ve heard them break a window or an alarm go off.” She snapped at her partner, “We should just call the police and have the place surrounded.”

Penny squeaked, and Nathalie pulled her closer, and placed a hand over her mouth, her lips brushing her hair. The villain felt her girlfriend’s heart rate spike.

“She has a hostage.” Chat Noir replied, “I need to de-transform, babe. Plagg can unlock these locks and check.”

Ladybug paused, “You can’t.”

“I have two minutes left anyway.” The boy answered, “She’s going to figure out my identity if I don’t hide somewhere anyway.”

They watched shadows cross in front of the light coming out of the bottom of the door. Then, a green light. The kwami, a black cat with bright green eyes, groaned as he phased through the door. He saw Penny. He saw Paon, and phased back through the door.

“Yeah, I can’t unlock that.”

“Plagg!”

“I _can’t_ , kid.”

“You have no problem unlocking—”

“Yeah, when I’m not hungry.” The kwami replied, “I simply can’t after that cataclysm, and passing through that lady’s blue fire drained me too. _Please_ , kid.”

Just then, Hawkmoth appeared in the closet, touched them both, and they were gone.

 

XXX

 

Tikki landed near Plagg, who was sitting on the floor, in the corner of the booth where Adrien and Marinette sat. It was even later in the evening, and the two teenagers had time before their curfew

He had pretended for the rest of the evening. The cat had complained, bit, hissed, and tormented his ward, distracting the boy and his girlfriend.

His other half saw through it. The red kwami stared at him for a moment, as he munched absentmindedly on rotted cheese.

“It’s Nathalie.” Plagg murmured. “It was always Nathalie.”

The red kwami sighed, “Plagg…”

“I can’t tell him.” The cat told her, “Rules. But it sucks.”

Tikki leaned on her brother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

His tail swished back and forth, “I figured, when Adrien discovered that his father is Hawkmoth, he’d have Nathalie. I thought I knew stupid humans, after a few millennia.”

“You _liked_ her.”

“She cared about him. Someone had to.”

Tikki frowned, “She still does.”

“When she discovers her kid is Chat Noir?”

The kwami shook her head, “We don’t know what Paon wants yet. From what we saw, she doesn’t want a fight. She _ran away_.”

“Because her stupid girlfriend was there.” Plagg replied.

 

XXX

 

They appeared in Gabriel’s study, and Penny whirled back on him as he let go of his transformation.

“Who the hell do you think you-”

“Penny.” Nathalie told her girlfriend, dropping her transformation, “I’m not disagreeing with you, but let’s make sure Adrien isn’t here to listen in.”

Her kwami collapsed in her hands, and she set the bird on the bed. She glanced over to Nooroo, who nodded, leaving to get them both food.

Gabriel shifted, “He’s out with his girlfriend, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”

The woman exhaled, “I can’t _believe_ you erased Nathalie’s memory. You know, I thought you were a complete jackass, I didn’t realize you were this insane.”

Nathalie stepped back and turned, opening a cabinet to reveal a wine cooler and glasses. She perused the bottles, picked one, and set out in search of a corkscrew. She didn’t disagree with her partner whatsoever, but the day had been draining.

Gabriel snorted, “Nathalie, anything to add?”

The woman hummed, “Where’s the corkscrew?”

“Where it’s always been, the third drawer in my desk.”

Penny turned to Nathalie, “Don’t you care that your _boss_ has been behind everything this entire time? Do you have anything to say?”

Nathalie pressed her lips together, “He’s an _empath,_ honey, he knows how I feel about it, why waste time?”

She found the corkscrew.

She was lying to Penny, which wasn’t ideal. But she hadn’t been given any time (preferably alone, away from the two adults in the world that seemed to care about her) to process anything from that evening. Gabriel knew she was lying, at least. Hopefully he’d say something that would get Penny Rolling off the warpath.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose as Penny fumed. "I'm fairly certain you and Adele would have an obnoxious number of things in common, Ms. Rolling.”

In between opening the wine and pouring herself a glass, Nathalie froze. "What does she have to-"

Then her mind caught up with her. Her memories, not of being Le Paon, but of Adele and Gabriel's wedding. No time to process emotions when she remembered just how wrong that entire ceremony felt, how confused she was by her own feelings.

"Nathalie."

"No, no." Her voice was laced with venom. "Do not try to convince me. Humans are hypocrites and as much as you like to pretend you’re the epitome of originality, you're still a man."

His expression formed into a distasteful scowl. "I know you feel betrayed, but it's a thin line between betrayal and jealousy."

"You think I'm jealous?" Nathalie shook her head, "You decided for the both of us that I would stop. You insist you had no part in what we did? That's fine. I'm detached from my actions as well."

"That's-"

"I wasn't done." She snapped. "Adele goes missing and suddenly it's convenient to resume supervillainry? And then you have the nerve to say you're not a villain."

Gabriel scowled. "I never said that I wasn't."

"I know you, jackass."

"You don't."

"I know Hawkmoth, then." Her smirk grew slightly.

"What are you two going on about?" Penny's exasperation had reached its limit. "I swear to god both of you are three steps ahead and if you don't explain what's going on I will turn to a life of crime."

"You're heart couldn't take the cruelty." Gabriel murmured, "and I'm sorry. Adele found out that I'm Hawkmoth, and she knew Nathalie was Paon-"

"How?"

 His eye twitched, he turned to her. She knew he was infuriated that she even asked to begin with. "You adored me. We were inseparable and you loathed her. She was never as idiotic as you assumed."

Nathalie’s eyes turned to saucers, “I _never_ said she was an idiot, I told you that she shouldn’t have known about me in the first place.”

"So she gave you an ultimatum, then. " Penny murmured.

He nodded, his voice low. "Adele wanted a child. She had no tolerance for Hawkmoth, despite the money and success it brought our family. I wanted to spend the rest of my life, and..."

His gaze fell over to Penny, who stared back at him.

"In all honestly and in all effort not to offend present company, dating someone who knows your secret and agrees to not tell the proper authorities is convenient." Gabriel grimaced. "I did what had to be done. I'm not sorry."

Nathalie watched him, his face changed for a moment, to one of pain.

"What is it?"

"That's all I had to say." He answered, a lie she easily saw through.

The man groaned. "I was going to say-to you, Ms. Rolling-that if you'd prefer, I could have your memory erased."

"Excuse me?"

"Gabriel-"

"I'm saying, if you hate the knowledge of your partner being an ex-super villain, we can fix that. I can't erase your memories of Nathalie or your relationship-it's well known after all, and-"

"That's not happening." Penny but back, her entire body rigid. "And I know your motives. You want me to forget that you're Hawkmoth, don't you?"

"It goes hand in hand, I admit."

Her nostril's flared. "Well, in that case, Nathalie and I need to get home. Have a lovely evening, Gabriel."


	17. Allergic to Feathers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway heyo sorry it took a minute i started a new fic because i am a fool editing is for chumps bye!

Penny and Nathalie were almost out the door, politely rushing away, down the stairs and onto the foyer, when the front door opened.

Nathalie, instinct, put herself in front of Penny, and clenched her fists. Somewhere on her, Duusu squirmed, and she remembered that Gabriel had not asked for the broach back.

The door actually opened, and it was Adrien. She relaxed, and he raised an eyebrow. “Nathalie?”

Of course, he saw her completely ready to fight, of course. “Oh,” She relaxed, “I wasn’t sure who was coming in—it’s well past midnight.”

“Are you sneaking in, kiddo?” Penny moved to Nathalie’s side, her arm wrapping around her waist.

Adrien shook his head, “Marinette and I had a movie date.”

Nathalie narrowed her eyes, “I’m guessing you asked your father, and he said yes?”

“I did.”

Gabriel’s voice rang in above them, and Nathalie felt her stomach twist. After all, she had not wanted to see him. “What movie did you see?”

“The new Marvel movie.” He replied, shifting slightly, “Why is everyone up so late?”

Penny piped up, quelling anything Gabriel might’ve attempted to say, “Nathalie and I had a little too much to drink at the concert tonight.” She breathed in, pretending to be slightly flushed, “Two women with access to millions of euros at their fingertips—”

“ _ Billions _ .” Nathalie interjected. “Billions of euros. Thank god neither of us lost our wallets.”

“Right,” She chuckled, “Should not be left to their own devices on a weekend night. Luckily, your father was kind enough to let us hide out here, as we really,  _ really  _ couldn’t make it home.”

Gabriel clicked his tongue, “I can call you two a cab.”

“That’s okay, sir.” Nathalie replied, her voice edging with complete irritation, “We’re quite now to take the metro home.”

He frowned, “Alright, Nathalie. Have a lovely evening. Feel free to come in a bit later, tomorrow, if you’re not feeling well.”

“I’ll be early, sir.” She bit back. The woman turned back to Adrien, “Do head to bed, Adrien, you have a photoshoot tomorrow.”

XXX

Penny was a typhoon walking in the flesh of a woman. Nathalie could only numbly follow her down the street as they walked. The weather had turned for the worst, but the sun was peeking past the buildings around them.

Suddenly, Penny whirled back to her partner, her eyes wild. "Never forget this," she hissed, "you were sixteen. You were a child. He was an adult and could've responded appropriately, but he didn't."

Nathalie's held out her arm, and her girlfriend took it, and didn't stop talking.

"Whatever you went through at sixteen that made you want all of Paris to burn for it-" Her voice caught for a second, she took a breath. "Whatever you went through, whatever it was that drove you, your feelings were valid."

The woman felt her heart swell. "I..." she was at a loss of what to say.

Penny's breathing fell under control. "It's not fair of him to put all the blame on you. I want to strangle him."

"If he wants to put all the blame on me, it's okay, Penny. It doesn't bother me."

"It bothers me."

"That's what bothers you?" Nathalie asked, “Not me being a superhero?” 

Her girlfriend grimaced, “What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?” 

She swallowed down her pride. “You’re finding something to be mad at so you can’t be mad at me?” 

“Should I be mad at you, Nat?” Her voice had lingered on irritation, “You were a  _ child _ . You were Adrien’s age. Would you blame Adrien?” 

“I didn’t have Adrien’s upbringing.” 

“Don’t bring technicalities into this.” Penny snapped back.

For a few streets, they walked in a terse silence. Nathalie had not said a word, and neither had Penny. 

The woman ran a hand through her purple hair, grimacing as she remember that she needed to get it re-colored. Nathalie said nothing at this but waited. 

Her voice was stiff, “I think,” she told Nathalie, “that it’s very telling that you would rather me be angry at you than be angry at Gabriel.” 

 

XXX

 

When they had arrived home, Nathalie pulled the sleeping Duusu out of her pocket. 

“Are they always this tired?” Penny said, staring at the thing. 

Nathalie grimaced, “Yeah,” She had lied, “Just because she hasn’t been active. She’ll perk up soon.” 

There was no use in telling Penny that evil made kwami weaker and sicker. Hell, maybe doing some good for a change would make Duusu feel better. 

The blue bird roused as Nathalie placed several strawberries in her other hand. She sat down on the couch. “Hey, Duusu,” she whispered. 

What do you say to a kwami you enslaved for evil? She was at a loss for words, nearly years later. She felt guilty, and wondered when it would be appropriate to apologize. 

Duusu cracked a smile at Nathalie. “You did so  _ good _ tonight!” She told her kwami. “Feeling you fall in love was the best.”

Nathalie frowned, “You felt it?”

“We’ve been connected all this time.” The kwami murmured, “You’ve changed so much. You’ve done so much.” 

She nodded, “I’m sorry for everything.” 

 

XXX

 

Nathalie had spent her lunch on of a small church’s roof. It was flat roof, with large brick walls around them. She sat in a shaded corner, still transformed, eating leftovers. 

The morning had not been exceptionally difficult. Nathalie had arrived on time, to a Gabriel who was unsurprised to see her. 

“Thank you for not quitting,” He told her, between sips of coffee, “I hope the events of last night have no effect on our working together.” 

She nodded, “We’re exceptionally effective at that.” 

And that had been it.

He had not said a word about taking back the miraculous, pinned to her jacket just so that he would ask for it back.

She briefly considered de-transforming, but there was no foliage around them for him to enjoy. Even so, Nathalie was not sure she was up for the preening, to compliments, the ‘You’re doing  _ soooo  _ great!’s. 

So she sat, eating her lunch, enjoying the shade around her. Hell, enjoying being Paon. Being back in costume had been invigorating.

Then, her hour-and-a-half lunch (because Gabriel Agreste can go to hell) took a turn for the worse. 

Chat Noir poked his head up, over the brick wall, and stared at her before flipping over the wall. Nathalie stood, pushing herself up against the wall, “Stay the hell away from me, kid.”

He frowned at her, from the opposite opposite corner, “Look, I just came here to talk.” 

Paon narrowed her eyes. “Did you?” 

“I did.” 

She exhaled, “You’re a kid, I don’t want to fight you.” 

The cat nodded, his hands clasped behind his back as he took a sheepish step forward. “I know. You would’ve killed me by now, if you wanted to.” 

“Ah.” 

“But you don’t.” Chat added, “So I have questions.” 

Paon frowned. 

“I know what you’re thinking!” He chuckled, “But Ladybug isn’t coming.” 

“I see,” She frowned, “What are you, fifteen? You’re a fool for thinking we could have a conversation.” 

She was trying to see if he would cower. The boy should be  _ nowhere near her under any circumstances.  _

“What caused you to reactivate your miraculous?” He asked, skipping to the point, “I mean...you went inactive for twenty years-so, what? Is there an apocalypse coming? A wizard army?” 

She stared at him, “What are your theories?” 

“Hawkmoth reactivated in the last year,” Chat replied. “But his motives are different from what they once were, are you going to stop him, are you going to fight him? Join him?” 

Paon exhaled, “Hawkmoth erased my memories, back then.” 

That caused the boy’s eyes to go wide. He moved closer to her, “What?” 

“He..”  _ had a girlfriend who he later married and had a child with who didn’t like what we were doing.  _ “It was complicated at the time. A magical organization figured out my identity before I did and used magic to restore my memories.” 

“Why?” 

Her first instinct was to glance away from him.  _ No, do not look away, he might attack.  _ “They were going to sell me on the magical black market. That’s what you and Ladybug saw, my partner and I were escaping.” 

There was no use explaining that Hawkmoth had helped, no advantage to aligning herself with him. 

“That was your girlfriend?” 

“Did she look like a hostage?” 

“A little.” 

Nathalie groaned, “I’m sorry, that must’ve been stressful for you. I assure you, we’re very much in love.” 

Chat frowned, “So you regained your memories?” 

“Yes.” 

“That must’ve been tough.” 

And suddenly, he was so close that he sneezed.


	18. a pawned witch

Nathalie’s knees were against her chest, as she sat on the couch, watching the news. 

“Just  _ go,  _ Nathalie.” Penny groaned, pacing around the room, “You can  _ help _ .” 

She grimaced, watching as Ladybug and Chat attempted to take on a skeleton armory, complete with royalty, knights, archers, and foot soldiers. They were not making headway. Ladybug and Chat had no truly offensive weapons between them. They could only defend themselves and passively attack. It did not do well against actual military (albeit, ancient) weapons. 

Paon did not  _ belong  _ there, however. Paris was not going to accept her, Ladybug was not going to forgive her. Chat...well, Chat kept his distance from her, after that day. 

“There’s nothing I can do. I will only put Paris in a further panic.” 

It was at this point, a very inconvenient point in time, that Hawkmoth appeared in front of her coffee table. Nathalie’s first instinct was to kick him in the shin, and he teleported a few steps away from her. 

“Get dressed, Nat,” He told her, adjusting the broach at his collar. “Those kids aren’t equipped to take that little army down and you know it.”

Nathalie exhaled, and grumbled, “Duusu, transform me.” 

She glanced to her girlfriend, who looked slightly displeased. 

_ Of course, I agree to go after Hawkmoth appears, but not when you told me to go. _

“Sorry, Penny.” 

“Be safe.” 

Hawkmoth grinned at the both of them, “We’re going to need a jumping start, dove.” 

His eyes widened, and Nathalie pretended not to freeze at the pet name. He cleared his throat, and held out his hand. “We can’t be late to this one.” 

She took her hand, and then they jumped. 

 

XXX

 

Nathalie appeared in mid air, as she had some flight capabilities, while. Gabriel teleported to the ground. She landed with some skill, to the ground, cutting down several horses and their riders on the way. 

They disappeared into a storm of dust. She ran to Gabriel, sliding as she tapped his shoulder, and appeared in front of Chat Noir, fighting viciously against a knight. The knight was about to cut the boy down, when Paon blocked his sword. 

One fan acted a shield, as the other as a set of small set of blades. 

In her peripherals, Chat Noir was trying desperately protect an injured Ladybug from the onslaught.  _ Her transformation will hold and heal her, unless the magic used here is counterintuitive to Miraculous and- _

She couldn’t think about it now. The girl would be  _ fine.  _ Paon cut the head off of the metal knight, and he disappeared into dust. 

“Hawkmoth!” She shouted to her partner, who was cutting down several archers, one by one. “Their leader!” 

He nodded, appeared beside her. He glanced around the park, then back at the children. 

“Where did the king go?” 

Ladybug could only muster a glare, “He disappeared, we don’t know.” 

The man nodded. He called out a butterfly to his hand. “Paon. Fire.” 

She cupped a small flame in her hand, watching both teenagers intently. The girl’s eyes widened, and she tried to squirm away, muster any fading strength. 

“What are you doing?” Chat hissed, pulling his partner closer, as she bled out her stomach. 

The butterfly flew into the blue flame, and the flame danced up, and turned a shade of pink. Paon took the fan in her other hand, and bent down, cutting a gash into her leg, wincing as she did. 

“It’s a healing flame,” She explained, directing the pink flame to her leg. “It’s perfectly safe.” She pulled the flame away, to a perfectly healed leg, with fabric reforming over her mid thigh. “You’ll die otherwise, Ms. Ladybug.” 

Ladybug didn’t look pleased, as the bluebird bent down, placing the flame on her gashed stomach. In the edges of her vision, she could see the girl trying to make sense of her under the blue veil, and recognize her under the light blue skin. 

The fabric around Ladybug’s stomach started to reform, and Nathalie stood up, “That should do it.” 

Chat helped his partner up, who looked at Paon with complete disgust. “I’ll give you five minutes headstart, for helping us today.” 

“We don’t play games,” Hawkmoth replied. “Furthermore, that king is still around. Neither of you are exactly suited for this kind of combat.”

“Wanna bet?” 

Paon frowned, “We don’t gamble with our lives, and I don’t make a habit of fighting children.” 

“ _ Anymore _ .” Hawkmoth grumbled. 

Scowling, Paon glanced to her partner, “We agreed not to argue in front of  _ others,  _ you ass.” 

“Four and a half minutes.” Ladybug narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and tapped her foot.

Hawkmoth looked over her shoulder, at the police officers, at the guns aimed at both of them. “I think...I don’t think it’s over yet.” 

He walked over to the dust of the opponents that had disappeared. 

“What do you mean?” Chat asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. 

He bent down to the dust. “It was a dimensional transfer. Their leader, the ‘king’ appeared to be their transportation anchor. If he had returned to his own dimension-” 

“The dust would’ve disappeared too.” Paon completed the sentence, “Unless, he conjured this army in  _ this  _ dimension.” 

“Unlikely. That would’ve taken time.” He replied, “And he appeared with  _ all  _ of them at once, didn’t he?” 

“He did,” Chat replied. 

“Three and a half minutes,” the spotted heroine growled. 

“ _ Unless, _ ” Paon fanned herself as she spoke, “He appeared in this dimension, conjured his armor, and transported to this spot from within this dimension.” She glanced to the teenagers, “Anything to add?” 

“What? We don’t know any magic.” 

“ _ Neither  _ of you have been studying magic?” She looked at Hawkmoth, “You really have been incompetent.” 

Hawkmoth glowered, transported next to Paon. He placed his sword in its sheath, and the thing glowed momentarily before turning back into a cane. “We’ll search for their leader. You kids rest.” 

“You can search, I had plans,” Paon answered. “The less time I spend with you, the better.” 

He smirked, “Don’t say that, you’ll hurt my feelings, and I only have a few.” 

She rolled her eyes so hard she could feel a migraine coming on. 

“One minute,” Ladybug stated, a smirk coming on her. 

“Let’s just  _ go,  _ Hawkmoth.” 

“Fine.” 

He held out his hand to Nathalie, and she smiled, and took it. She even smiled back at the teenagers. Chat Noir had an arm around Ladybug’s waist. 

Then, as Hawkmoth was about to magic them away, Ladybug lunged forward, grasping Paon’s forearm. 

Then, they were all gone. 

 

XXX

  
They did not appear anywhere but a pitch black room. 

“What the hell, Ladybug?” Chat said, sounding infuriated, “You don’t just  _ grab the sleeve of a supervillain without consulting me about it. _ ” 

“Former,” Paon corrected him, “Hawkmoth?” 

“I’m here,” He stated, his gloved hand on her arm. Strange, how she could still recognized his touch in the dark. 

She cupped a small amount of flame in her hand, catching the shadows of the three miraculous users. 

Nathalie exhaled. “I have an idea.” 

“Shoot.” 

“I need Chat to turn around. I’m going to de-transform and see if there’s a cell signal.” 

“And if he doesn’t?” Ladybug challenged.

Paon shrugged, “It makes no difference. Our miraculous will always have signal, so long as there’s another miraculous user to call. If my phone has zero signal, we’ll know we’re not in this universe.” 

Hawkmoth tensed, “We’re not alone.” 


	19. Witch's House

“I would like to point out, Paon,” Hawkmoth snapped at her bitterly, “that I am a  _ pawn,  _ you are the queen and you’re still complaining about it? What would be enough for you?” 

Ladybug glanced away, prodding at the magical edges of her square with her foot. She was the king. 

“Am I a bishop or a rook?” Chat asked the three of them, “I always get these confused.” 

“You’re a knight,” Hawkmoth replied coldly. He turned back to their opponent. That king, with a full skeleton army on the other side of the chessboard. “I’ve won several chess competitions, can I please-”

“You won those before these kids were even  _ born. _ ” 

“What? Like the rules of the game have changed in the last twenty years?” Hawkmoth replied incredulously, “I’m sorry, in what world am I a  _ pawn _ ?” 

Ladybug frowned, “Look, I don’t care what you are, but we need to beat their side so we can go home.” 

“Well we need to discuss-” 

A piece from the other side moved. 

Ladybug, exhaled. “Okay, we’ll move all of us last, no matter what.”

Chat swallowed, “Are you sure you can do this, my lady? You play chess a lot?” 

“I’m lucky.” 

 

XXX   
  


“I’m sure there’s something better we could do with our time, sir.” Nathalie stated, awkwardly sitting across from him, in front of the board. 

She was intimidated, which was a surprise to Gabriel. Paon would not have found a game like this, strategy and wits, to be intimidating. His former partner lived for puzzles. 

“I’m sure the company won’t set itself on fire if we play chess, Nathalie.” He gestured, “you’re the white pieces, so, make a move.” 

He ideally wondered if her strategy would stay the same, if she would still prefer knights to rook pieces, or have the same opening sequence.

She gingerly moved a pawn, one of the pawns diagonally in front of her king. 

He frowned, but then he moved a piece, and they continued. 

In truth, she was not an aggressive player, like she once was. She did not attack his pieces, but rather, defended her own, and took pieces when she had two. 

Eventually he had only one rook, a bishop, two pawns, and his king. Nathalie had a knight, her queen, and her king. 

She had gotten more absorbed, more comfortable with the game as they played on for forty-five minutes, when he actually started feeling her responses. 

When they had played previously, they would cheat against each other. Gabriel would sense her emotions every time a move was made, and Nathalie would attempt to feel the  _ wrong  _ emotions, or nothing at all. 

His thumb brushed over his bishop, and he sensed her complete satisfaction by his choice. 

He grinned, pretending that that was the smartest move he could make, and moved his piece. 

Nathalie was about to go into checkmate. For a second, she was overjoyed, and then, she was anxious. Gabriel heard her take in a short breath, and move a piece, a willing forfeit. 

He glanced away, unable to handle that she was afraid of beating him. He made a move. 

“Checkmate,” he murmured, his tone devoid of joy. 

 

XXX

 

“That’s checkmate,” Paon called to the king, after moving three spaces to her left. “Let us return home.” 

Hawkmoth, also a queen, nodded. “Those are the rules.” 

“Hmm, so they are the rules of our universe,” The king replied, “yes. I’ll send you all home.” 

They four of them reappeared in the park, and before anything could occur, Hawkmoth placed a hand on Paon, and they were gone. 

 

XXX

The  _ mansion.  _

Of all the places for the four miraculous users to appear, the Agreste mansion. 

Ladybug fists balled. “Why are we in the Agreste mansion?” She looked up at the two adults, suspicious. 

Chat’s ears drew back, and he laughed nervously, “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. We  _ are  _ in the heart of the city, after all.” 

Hawkmoth nodded. “It doesn’t seem like Gabriel Agreste, his assistant, or his son are home, which is good.” He pulled at the hem of his suit jacket, and glanced to Ladybug. “We should delete his camera footage. It would not look good if the four of us appeared here together.” 

Chat Noir cut in, “ _ Agreed _ . I know where Mr. Agreste stores the footage.” 

Ladybug crossed her arms, “We can’t just break into his computer.” 

Paon clicked her tongue. “Gabriel Agreste is a snake, first and foremost. So is his assistant.  _ Neither  _ of them can know we were here.” 

The girl glared up at her, “You’ve run in with them before?” 

She exhaled. “I took Nathalie Sancoeur as a hostage, and to be frank, her actions took me out for twenty years. Stay away from her.” 

“ _ And  _ Gabriel.” Hawkmoth added coolly, before turning to the boy. “The servers, where are they?”

Chat led them into Gabriel’s office, and the three of them followed. Paon rolled her eyes viciously, when no one was looking, because she knew Gabriel could feel her do it. 

The boy got to the computer, turned it on, and grimaced. “I don’t know the password. I thought it would be signed in.” 

Ladybug brushed him aside, and typed something into the computer. 

“ _ You _ know the password?” Hawkmoth asked her, sounding incredulous. “How?” 

She computer beeped, indicating that she did not know the password. “My superpower is luck, I figured I’d give it a shot.” 

Hawkmoth breathed out, and held out his palm. A butterfly appeared. Then, he placed his other hand over it, turning it a shade of blue. He let it go, and it flew into the computer. “It should unlock now.” 

Chat blinked. And then moved the mouse around for a moment, and made several clicks. “The footage is gone, and I took out the servers for the next hour. Hopefully,”-the boy made a few more clicks on the keyboard-“I can fill the missing space with empty footage from a different day and no one will be the wiser.” 

After a few minutes, Chat Noir grinned. “Now there’s no proof.” 

Ladybug stared at her partner. “That was kind of intense.” 

“I know,” he replied wryly. “But, worth it.” 

He glanced up at Hawkmoth and Paon, who looked back at the teenagers with indifference. Chat’s eyebrows pushed together, looking like he was trying to understand a difficult problem. “So, this is where we part ways.” 

Hawkmoth grinned at the boy, looking genuinely pleased. “It was pleasure working with you, Mr. Noir. If you’re ever interested in working with me again, please let me know.” He glanced to Ladybug, disdain all over his face, “And, for the record, you are a formidable chess player.” 

Then, he brushed Nathalie’s shoulder, and they were both gone.


	20. Know A Witch

Penny’s arms wrapped around Nathalie as her transformation let go. Nathalie felt herself melt in her arms.

“You guys were gone for two days,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “I was  _ so  _ worried.” 

Nathalie pulled away from her girlfriend as Gabriel exclaimed, “ _ What? _ ” 

Penny glanced between the two of them. “How long was it for you?” 

“A few hours, maybe,” Nathalie said. “Oh my  _ god _ .” She turned to Gabriel, “ _ Call Adrien _ .” 

Gabriel shifted. “He’s fine, Nat.” 

Her eyes went wide at that. “What do you  _ mean,  _ he’s fine.” 

“He’s a capable kid, he’s probably fine. I’ll text him to meet me at the house,” Gabriel answered, pulling out his phone for emphasis. 

That enraged her further, and she was about to reply, when Nathalie felt Penny put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t argue or stress about it. I covered for  _ both  _ of you, because I’m a capable accomplice.” She glanced over to Gabriel, “I made sure Adrien was taken care of, as well.” 

Gabriel’s nostrils flared out, but took in another breath. He stared back at Penny, and something resembling understand passed between them. “ _ Thank you _ . Take care. Nat, I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He transported away, and Nathalie pulled Penny back to her. They stayed like this, holding each other. Penny pulled bobby pins out of Nathalie’s hair, dropping them on the hardwood floor. Then, she ran her fingers through her partner’s hair. It calmed Nathalie further, and it was only when she stopped shaking that Nathalie realized she had been shaking to begin with.

Nathalie finally broke the silence, “You must’ve thought-” 

Penny cut her off. “It’s okay.” 

She pulled away from Penny, just so she could look her in her eyes. “It’s  _ not.  _ I don’t want to put you through that ever again. Playing hero isn’t fair to you.” 

For a second, Penny looked completely struck by Nathalie’s words. Then, she shook her head. “You deserve to redeem yourself, Nathalie. And you’re amazing at it.” 

“Nothing I will do change what I’ve done.” 

“It lessens the blow,” She replied, taking hold of Nathalie’s hands, and bringing them to her lips.

Nathalie shook her head. “ _ You  _ didn’t sign up for this.” 

“So?” Penny replied, with a grin. “I don’t expect you to be the same person five years from now, but as things are going, I’m  _ still  _ going to be in love with you five years from now.” 

Nathalie pulled Penny back to her, hugging her tightly. 

“And, dating a former supervillain kind of does it for me.”

That made her laugh. “Oh, is it the power?”

“No, it's the blue skin and the threat of constant danger,” Penny answered, pressing a kiss to her partner’s che.

 

XXX

 

Gabriel sat in his office,  _ waiting. _

He glanced back down at his phone. Adrien had read the text, of course, he’d be home soon. 

_ It has been two days. Please come home.  _

His son was a fast-moving ball of panic and anxiety. 

When Adrien opened the doors of the office, Gabriel motioned for him to sit.

“I can explain, Father, I-” 

Gabriel held up a hand. “There is no need for explanations. I-” 

He stopped himself, and blinked, pressing his lips together. “I know you’re Chat Noir,” Gabriel finally said. “I covered for you these past two days, and waited for you to come home.” 

Adrien slumped back in his chair, looking completely horrified. “How did you  _ know _ ?” 

“I’m your father? I noticed.”

Frowning, the boy glanced away, setting his hands awkwardly on his father’s desk. “I didn’t realized you paid that much attention,” he eventually whispered. 

Gabriel reached across the desk, placing his hand over Adrien’s. It comforted Adrien, but his father was only reminded of the ring on Adrien’s finger. “I understand. The important thing is that you stay safe, Adrien.” 

The boy pulled his hand away. “I can’t  _ stop  _ being Chat Noir, dad.” 

“I know,” Gabriel amended, leaning back in his chair. “I know what it means to you, that freedom and anonymity.  _ But,  _ I need you to stay as far away from Paon and Hawkmoth as you can. I cannot have you walking them around the mansion, disabling cameras.”

Adrien’s mouth fell open, “ _ How- _ ” 

“I know when my company’s servers are tampered with. And files have backups.” Gabriel changed the subject before Adrien could question him further. “Paon and Hawkmoth are dangerous.” 

Adrien frowned. “They said the same about you.” 

He snorted, “As though I’m in the same league as magical terrorists? I know I’m not a good person, but please spare me.” 

“And Nathalie.” 

“What about her?” Gabriel asked him. Adrien loved her, clearly, and his father was in no mood to shatter the illusion. 

“They said to stay away from her, too. Paon said she kidnapped her.” Adrien glanced away. “You didn’t tell me that,” he muttered. 

Gabriel bit back a reply that his son was too young. Instead, he answered, “Nathalie is a very private person, Adrien. You have to understand that even if she wanted you to know, she wouldn’t have been able to tell you. She’s never going to be open about herself in that way.” 

Adrien raised his eyebrows at that, “Like you?”

“We have similar traits.”

He paused. “Why not Nathalie?”

Every muscle in his body forced himself to keep his expression neutral. “Excuse me?”

The boy flushed. “I-I mean, you two seem like you’d go well together. Did you ever, um, why haven't you-”

Gabriel held up a hand with a small smile, and pulled off a perfect lie. “Nathalie is a lesbian, Adrien. She wouldn't never be interested in me, even if I wanted, which I don't. It works great in everyone’s favor.”

 

XXX

 

Penny had been working at her desk, listening to demos of potential opening acts when there was a lull in the music, and she heard footsteps behind her. 

She spun around in her chair and practically screamed at Hawkmoth, standing behind her desk.

Ripping her earbuds out, she demanded in a hushed tone, “what the  _ hell  _ are you-”

“We need to talk. Preferably in private.”

The woman exhaled, and considered pulling out her phone and calling Nathalie. Then, she remembered that Nathalie would probably commit a murder of Hawkmoth killed her. 

She took the hand he had offered, and the world fell apart around her. Her hand gripped tighter around Hawkmoth’s, as it seemed there was nothing around her. Then, the universe reformed. 

It was his butterfly lair. 

“There is nothing to discuss,” she told him softly, pulling her hand away. Penny brushed away butterflies that landed on her shoulder. 

He cleared his thrust. “You know Adrien’s identity.”

Penny pressed her lips together. “I do,” she said, as it was useless to deny it.

“How?”

“Nathalie loves him to death, Gabriel. When you two went missing, I attempted to locate him to make sure he was safe, but he was missing as well.” 

A silence fell over the two of them.

“Did he figure out that you're Hawkmoth?”

“No,” he answered, not quite hiding his relief. “I intend to keep it that way.”

Penny nodded. “No one wants him to find out.”

Hawkmoth seemed pleased with her response. “You can't tell Nathalie that he’s Chat.”

She pressed her lips together. “Yeah, I wasn't planning on it.”

“If she found out he was Chat, she would take his miraculous.”

Laughing automatically, she leaned against him, hysterical as tears sprang to her eyes. He pushed away from her and glared. 

Penny shook her head, “You don’t know her, do you?” 

Hawkmoth rolled her eyes, “Of course I know her.” 

Crossing the distance between him, Penny looked up at Hawkmoth, who seemed suddenly frightened at this small woman standing far too close to him. “If you knew her, you’d know that she loves Adrien more than anything,” she told him. Then, her voice dropped slightly, “Nathalie would destroy you if she knew that it was him you were attacking.”

Hawkmoth took in a deep breath. “That’s highly unlikely, Ms. Rolling.” Sadly, he did not sound convinced of that.

“And she’ll know that you already knew about him, won’t she?” She tilted her head to the side, watching the thought cross the villain’s face. “I can’t imagine anything less than an attempted murder. I don’t like it, obviously, but I know her.” 

_ You don’t know her,  _ she thought, but refused to say.  _ You will never know her.  _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plot? what plot

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: gabriel-fucking-agreste  
> #rollcoeur


End file.
